Last week was Thanksgiving. And so we asked kids to tell us what they were thankful for. We got plenty of stories of gratitude.
Tyler
Thankful Bankful in my Lenghtful
I am thankful for God. I am thankful for my mom. I am thankful for my dad. I am thankful for my whole family. I am thankful for video games. I am thankful for books. I am thankful for Nai Nai and Jim. I am thankful for Po Po. I am thankful for pumpkins. I am thankful for couches, socks, and shoes. I am thankful for citiblocks and matchbox cars. And I’m thankful for people who make trails on mountains so we can go hiking. The End.
Tyler, your gushing list of gratitude made me smile. It’s funny how hearing what someone else is thankful for makes me feel even more thankful for what I have. So thanks.
Spencer
I am thankful for my dad because he cooks, plays, plays games, and has fun! He is the coolest dad in the world. He plays lots of games with me. He cooks yummy stuff in the morning. I love my dad a lot! He also gives me toys! I think my dad is the best!
Spencer, you are a lucky guy to have such a cool dad. I am thankful to you for providing this insight into what the coolest dad in the world is up to. I’m slightly less thankful to him for making it clear that I am, at best, the second coolest dad in the world. I will try to learn from this humbling experience.
Kato
Nothing! I am thankful for jets and rockets because they’re shiny and they’re fast. The ABC’s because it’s fun to sing. I’m thankful for propellers because they spin and keep the plane up and steady. I think I’m thankful for Mama because I like her. Because I have fun with her. And I’m thankful for arrows because they point the way. I’m thankful for apples because I like them to eat. And I’m thankful for letters because I like to write with them. And I’m thankful for the TV for watching Word Girl.
I will start by pointing out that, once again, a parent is being singled out for excellence and, once again, this parent is not me. I suppose I should use this as a teachable moment, but right now I’m too busy battling my tears to be philosophical.
Moving on, then, I’m not sure whether the rest of you have heard of Word Girl (Kato often calls her World Girl), but she is all the rage in the barn these days. Here is Kato, looking up World Girl on the computer so that he can draw her for an illustration to accompany his story of thanks.
And here is Kato’s drawing of Word Girl and her little monkey friend. I do not know the monkey’s name. I do not follow Word Girl with the same enthusiasm as Kato. I bet Spencer’s dad knows all about Word Girl’s monkey. I bet he’s met that monkey. I bet he and that monkey sometimes hang out.
August
August is not yet two and still rather inexpert at saying words that other people can understand. However, after much discussion and careful listening (I am thankful for Robbi’s patience), we were able to extract Augie’s list of gratitude:
Computer. Balls. Yellow. Balloon. Lights. Rockets.
Here is August’s drawing. Note that his drawing was done right on top of a drawing by Alden.
Perhaps he was trying to be efficient and not waste paper. Perhaps he felt that his drawing was superior (and thus more worthy of claiming the page). Or perhaps he is not yet two and unable to tell the difference. We cannot know. Just as you would not know that this is a drawing of computer, balls, yellow, balloon, lights, rockets without being told.
Alden
Here is Alden’s drawing of the things she’s thankful for.
And here is her story of thanks.
I’m thankful for your popcorn maker because it makes popcorn for us at movie night. I’m thankful for gingerbread houses because they smell so good and they look good. And I’m thankful for Apple Dumpling, this blue bear, of course, she’s a baby – because she’s CUTE. I’m thankful for my Halloween costume, my princess one, because it’s pretty. I’m thankful for my Christmas tree because I like when I can hang the Christmas ornaments on it and I like the lights on it. I’m thankful for Lamby because she’s soft and she makes music and that makes me feel happy.
Alden requested that the popcorn maker be taken down from the shelf where it is stored, that it might be on hand for modeling during the drawing session. She also requested that her little brother be removed from the premises, that he might not steal all her pencils during the drawing session. One out of two isn’t bad.
Perhaps it is worth noting that while the rest of the family wrote stories and drew pictures of thanks, Iggy was sniffing about in the background, trying to figure out why the butter cookies that usually hang from the tree are missing this year. Every morning, she wakes up and trudges over to the tree with renewed hope. Every day she slumps back to her dog bed, hungry and despondent. What she does not know is that we plan to make our cookie ornaments on Saturday. What she also does not know is that we plan to hang them beyond the reaches of her eager craning neck.
And finally, we have a story from Joe.
I’m thankful for my bed!
Every night after taking a bath, my baby sister and I would put on pajamas and jump onto my fluffy bed.
We like to have Mommy or Daddy squeeze in with us and read bedtime stories.
Sometimes, we hide under the sheet and pretend we were not there, and we scare whoever walks near the bed.
After stories, we’d sing a song, kiss good-night, and put my baby sister into her sleep sack, all in my bed. However, when it is really bedtime, my baby sister sleeps alone in her crib. And I sleep with Bitbit on my bed. (Bitbit’s is a toy rabbit.) I like cuddling with Bitbit when I sleep. And I like having my mushroom light on, so that it is not too dark. I’m thankful for my bed and everything. 🙂
First off, even though he’s not saying it, I’m pretty sure Joe is implying that his mom and dad are truly fantastic. If they are not quite as cool as Spencer’s dad, then they are probably the second and third coolest parents in the world. Which probably means that Robbi comes in fourth. Which leaves me at fifth-coolest. So far as I know. Perhaps there are five million parents between Robbi and me in the standings. I know that there are various other continents and it’s possible that each of them contains dozens of very cool parents.
But I digress. The real point is that I completely identify with Joe’s gratitude toward his bed. There is perhaps nothing finer than a bed, a place where we can lie still and be warm and comfortable. I do not have a toy rabbit in my bed. Based on Joe’s stirring endorsement, I am thinking about getting one.
I think that Joe’s drawing is really wonderful. I love the perspective, which means the angle he chose. It’s as if he’s drawing while perched up against the ceiling, looking down on that long bed and its colorful bedspread. I love that cheerful mushroom light. And I love seeing Joe and Bitbit there, heads on their pillows, tucked in for a night of sweet dreaming.
And speaking of sweets, as has been previously discussed, Robbi is thankful for ice cream.
If you want a seven-scoop cone to eat, head to Baskin Robbins. But if you want the kind of ice cream that hangs on your wall and does not melt, mosey on over to Ebay. This cheerful rodent on calorie overload will be yours for the bidding until 12:30pm EST this coming Sunday.