{"id":9912,"date":"2017-12-23T18:14:24","date_gmt":"2017-12-23T18:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/?p=9912"},"modified":"2017-12-23T18:17:17","modified_gmt":"2017-12-23T18:17:17","slug":"thank-you-again-and-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/2017\/12\/thank-you-again-and-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Thank you again and again"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_1434\"<\/a>Ho, ho, ho no. Have you encountered holiday grumps?<\/p>\n

My instinct is to tell them to focus on the positive instead of the negative, to practice gratitude. Then I realize it is advice I can use myself. I have so much to be grateful for\u2014I hope you do too. Thank you for reading; I appreciate you giving me your attention.\u00a0 Happy holidays!<\/p>\n

Peace, love, and solace<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Everyday is a gift<\/strong><\/p>\n

so says the plaque on the bathroom wall.
\nOf course, there should be a space between
\nevery and day. It is each and every
\nday that is the present.<\/p>\n

But the everyday is a gift too,
\nwrapped in plain paper
\naddressed in Papermate blue,
\nbound in time and string,
\nleft on the doorstep
\nnear the mat, common as dirt and dust,
\nordinary as tap water, easy to miss.<\/p>\n

When you return to the table at the restaurant
\nit may have taken you seat
\n\u2014look before you sit. It is there
\nwith you in the car, built in better
\nthan cup holders. You can see it
\nout your windshield\u2014big sky
\ncountry and rainy day commuting,
\nbroken shoelaces and loose teeth,
\nsalty as canned soup
\nand just as remarkable
\nunless you have specific recall of the mundane,
\nall happenstance and chicken fingers.<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be special
\nto get a gift everyday–what greedy
\nchildren we\u2019d be. No matter; it hangs around
\nwith your clothes and tags along after breakfast
\nlike a balloon from the carnival,
\nor the toilet paper flagging your step,
\nconstant companion, sometimes making you self conscious.<\/p>\n

A gift. A prize. A favor
\ncheap as the tchotchke in the Cracker Jack box,
\ncute as Monopoly\u2019s Scottie dog,
\nsuccinct as a vanity plate and vague as a bubblegum fortune.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the balled tissue in the toes of new shoes,
\nnoticeable only when you put your foot in it.<\/p>\n

Or it\u2019s a bitter process, tough-as-gristle work,
\ncomforting as an I-told-you-so but iridescent
\nlike a pearl, and dirty as a root vegetable.
\nAfter all, some gifts we\u2019d like to return.<\/p>\n

But whether it is as vexing as catsup,
\nfrivolous as confetti,
\nor hard and gleaming like the cold comfort
\nwe take from still being alive, it
\nwill not to be denied but remains
\nobvious as the banner
\nthat boasts \u201csanitized for your protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sure, everyday is a gift.
\nUnwrap it carefully
\nand save the paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Here's<\/a>
Here’s my guy \u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"We<\/a>
We are all in the gutter \u00a9 Ellen Wade Beals, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ho, ho, ho no. Have you encountered holiday grumps? My instinct is to tell them to focus on the positive instead of the negative, to practice gratitude. Then I realize it is advice I can use myself. I have so much to be grateful for\u2014I hope you do too. Thank you for reading; I appreciate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12,331,23,3422,745,39,13,20,7,16,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-9912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-ellen-wade-beals","8":"tag-everyday-is-a-gift","9":"tag-gratitude","10":"tag-happiness","11":"tag-merry-christmas","12":"tag-photography","13":"tag-poetry","14":"tag-publication","15":"tag-solace","16":"tag-solace-in-so-many-words","17":"tag-weighed-words","18":"entry","19":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9912"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9920,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9912\/revisions\/9920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solaceinabook.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}