Giving Thanks

I am not sure that any of us imagined

we would be celebrating a second Thanksgiving on the road,

still on our journey in 300 square feet.

This year's location is another coast

with warmer, whiter sands

and a blue-green sea.

And this year's gifts include being with my family

To share the holiday of thanks -

A first in fifteen years.

Time with my parents

Time with my grandma

Time - face to face - 

is reason enough to

to pause and count our many gifts:

Enjoying the bounty of local crops

Preserving food for the months to come

With four generations of hands at work,

Making new friends

and learning new skills,

Exploring a coast

teeming with beauty and life,

Soaking in every last ray of light in our days.

As we did a year ago,

we took to the shore to write out our lists

In the sand

In our hearts.

"Rejoice always,

pray continually, 

give thanks in all circumstances."