Ah, the eve of the eve of Thanksgiving — a day set aside for chasing the dust bunnies out from all the places they hide, rounding them up and corralling them in the vacuum cleaner’s holding pen. And, it is the time for venturing into the refrigerator to see what needs to go in order to make room for the soon-to-be leftovers.

The eve’s eve is a time of making straight what need straightening in order to celebrate a day of being grateful that I have something that needs straightening. I like this day because it offers me an opportunity to spend time counting my blessings, the day-to-day blessings I often overlook.

First, there is the blessing of having a place where dust bunnies live, because it means I have a roof over my head, something a lot of folks in this world miss. I have a refrigerator with food in it. Think about that for a moment. I have a cold box that holds things for me to eat – heck I have things to eat. Goodness, I am rich.

Then, I come to the blessing of laundry as I collect the stuff that needs washing. I get to wash clothes — hallelujah. I have clothes, plenty of clothes, clothes for every season. I forget what a gift it is to have nice things to cover this body of mine. And, I have machines that wash and dry those things. Is that a miracle, or what!

Of course, there is a body that is moving around corralling bunnies, cleaning out a refrigerator and washing clothes. Wow. I can breathe and walk and talk and laugh without giving it much, if any, thought. It doesn’t get much better than that does it?

Add to the breathing and moving the fact I am typing these words. That means my brain is working. I’m thinking and creating and able to remember the things I need to remember. In this moment, I have the gift of being able to appreciate that the stuff I need to survive is in working order. Oh, that is so good.

Oh and on this eve’s eve, I can move through an entire day saying yes to appreciating life, every wonderful second of it. The sound of my vacuum cleaner – what sweet music. The warmth of clothes fresh from the dryer – oh the feel of that. Breath moving through my body as my heart beats – miraculous.

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Eve, (which is today for most of you reading this) I go into cooking mode as I prepare for the arrival of guests on Thursday. (Ah, family to celebrate with – another blessing). Things speed up on the eve of the big day as I click through the to-do list in my head. I admit that often in the rush to get it done and done right, I forget about the blessings.

If I’m not careful, I let the preparation for a day of thanksgiving get in the way of actually being thankful that I have an opportunity to be thankful. Now that’s a mouthful of something isn’t it?

So, as I sit here on this eve of the eve of Thanksgiving, I’m doing a little pre-holiday celebrating by counting the ways my life is blessed. And when all the rush of cleaning and planning and cooking is done, I hope I remember to take time to just be still and celebrate the wonder of being right where I am – alive on Thanksgiving Day.

Now, that is something I am grateful for with every single breath.