Thursday Thirteen: Gratitude to the Least Likely...

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This little photo doesn't do justice to the statue of the great Massasoit that overlooks the harbor of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Go there and you will see a grand, so much larger than life monument to the great Native American who helped the Pilgrims make sense of their new landscape and to survive in it in the 1620s.

Massasoit is one of my favorite figures from this era in our history. He was kind because he could be; he certainly didn't have to be. I wonder if the Pilgrims enjoyed the irony of their situation as they worked so hard to satisfy the demands of their business partners back home who expected compensation for the boat ride to and the real estate in the new world. No mercy there.


I like the story of Massasoit also because it reminds me to appreciate kindness from everywhere, including from the least likely of places and to accept the grief when it does not come from the most likely of places. With that idea in mind, thanks to:


1. To old friends who forced open locked doors.

2. To Ted the Recycling Guy for his words of wisdom and his gifts;

3. To Joe down the way who baked cookies for Della when he found out she was sick last winter;

4. To dad for watching Della at the crack of dawn whenever I have asked;

5. For mom for watching Della whenever I have needed help;

6. For the Lundwalls for being wise friends;

7. For Delmo the guinea pig whose passing taught us to cherish the sanctity of even the smallest of lives;

8. For Tapper the guinea pig whose continuing life is always a source of fun;

9. For the deer who cross my path from time to time and show me pure grace;

10. For the old turtles around here who remind me everything is forever somehow, somewhere;

11. For the kids I teach who cause me to realize a gentle heart will not be broken;

12. For the spirit of all who have gone before who make me and make my world; and

13. For you for being here and reminding me we are never alone.


Thursday Thirteen

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43 Comments

  1. A very lovely list. Number 11 is especially wonderful because I think your gentle heart must be made of especially stern stuff.

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  2. We are never alone.

    A great list, with a perfect ending. So true.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your kindness to your fellows. Massasoit is a very inspiring figure too. Btw, is it okay to link your blog to mine? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

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  4. Anonymous7:31 PM

    That's a very nice list.

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  5. To amazing people who write great blog posts that inspire and feed the soul ... that'd be you.

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  6. Anonymous8:08 PM

    Hi, very nice list! I did sort of the same kind of list, (things I'm thankful for.) My list is here: http://lifes-adventures.net
    Cheers, and happy thanksgiving!

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  7. What a nice, kind list. Beautiful

    SJR
    The Pink Flamingo

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  8. SandyC - Here is something you didn't know about me. I published an academic article about King Philip's War (which I'm sure you know about). For the benefit of your other commenters, "King Philip" was the nickname given to Massasoit's son Metacomet who fought a two-year battle against the colonists because of their abuses and inequity to his people. To me, he, his father, and his brother Wamsutta (aka Alexander) are heroic figures. True Americans who fought for their own freedom and lost. I started a historical novel based on this period, and it languishes.

    Read "Mayflower" by Nataniel Philbrick for a great historian's point of view. He and I tend to agree.

    Peace - D

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  9. Feeling the appreciation AND accepting that grief, those would go a long way.

    Funny I was thinking along these lines today; I wore a necklace that was a gift to me in return for kindness long ago; diamonds wouldn't mean more.

    Thank you for sharing a wonderful image, insight, and list Sandy: Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of yours!!

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  10. As always, your words touch my heart. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  11. Happy Thanksgiving Sandy. I hope your day brings you many smiles and is full of love!

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  12. Anonymous10:19 PM

    This was wicked deep and I loved reading it...Thank you for sharing :)

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  13. I know that statue well, used to live in Plymouth. I like your ponderings on the unlikely things to be thankful for.

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  14. Anonymous11:27 PM

    I really like your number ten.

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  15. Anonymous12:33 AM

    Oh Sandy, this post made me cry. Very, very lovely!

    I wish you with all my heart, a very blessed Thanksgiving. You will have a most blessed one as you retreat in solitude with your heart and with your thoughts. I will be there with you! :-)

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  16. Very fine list, Sandy. The thirteenth point is greatly significant.

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  17. And thank you, for being the wonderful person that you are and for allowing us to get a glimpse of that which surely impacts a lot of people in one way or another...

    God bless.

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  18. Is the title referring to a saying?

    I have heard that gratitude is a healing emotion, and I can well believe it.

    It is a beautiful statue even from this angle!

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  19. A good list of thankyous there. Yes, loneliness is a state of mind.

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  20. Really great post, thanks for sharing

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  21. Nice post! great photo

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  22. Very nice list. I really love your WW post too - such depth and detail in the leaves.

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  23. Thanks Sandy. Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and your family. Pappy

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  24. Anonymous9:26 AM

    Kindness is something we can all be thankful for :)

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  25. I am thankful for you also.

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  26. Happy Thanksgiving today my friend...

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  27. Happy Thanksgiving Sandy!

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  28. Anonymous11:57 AM

    A great entry for Thanksgiving :)
    Here's wishing your family and you a great Thanksgiving! :)

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  29. Happy Thanksgiving Sandy! Your 13 warms my heart.

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  30. Ditto for appreciating the little things, without which life will not be grand in our eyes. Happy Thanksgiving.

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  31. A great list... and much to be thankful for. Just reading some of them is inspirational in itself and shows us how a little thought and a tiny bit of effort goes a long way.

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  32. Thank you for sharing this photo of Massasoit, I used to live at Camp Massasoit Boy Scout Camp in Plymouth County and went to school there in town.

    Would recommend a trip to Plymouth as there is lots going on there.

    Thanks for your kind comments on my post earlier and happy thanksgiving.

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  33. Anonymous6:39 PM

    What a wonderful and unique gratitude list Sandy. I am so grateful to have found my way to your blogs, I feel blessed and honored to know you.

    Big hugs, G

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  34. Nice touch in your words today! The world needs more teachers like you. Hope your Thanksgiving day was one filled with blessings.

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  35. Anonymous8:28 AM

    A wonderful list to remind us all-life is sooo about the little things.

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  36. That was beautiful and tear-evoking. Here from David's POTD.

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  37. I didn't do T-13 this week, but I found your list lovely & engaging. Number 13 'resonates' with me especially this afternoon.
    Hugs and blessings,

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  38. Thank you for sharing this sweet, wonderful list. I am moved by acknowledging the guinea pigs, both past and present. We celebrated Thanksgiving with cousins who have a 16 year old--and ailing dog. Our animal friends do indeed have lessons to teach.

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  39. Sandy, Thank You for You and You do! X 13

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Thanks for being here.