I’m pretty behind here, but I didn’t want to skip out on this tradition (though I never completed last year’s; I had a baby that last week of November!). As ever, I’m following @positivelypresent’s #gratitude30 prompts. The prompts are a bit different this year, and that’s fun for me!
DAY 1: Your favorite story
I’m taking this prompt as my favorite story from the past year. This year, I’ve slowed a bit on reading, but have found a few good reads along the way. I think my favorite in 2025 has been The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, one of my favorite authors of all time. Erdrich creates such endearing and dynamic characters, and she also manages to create slightly mystical worlds that feel so tangible. The Sentence is set 2019-2020, and it touches a lot on the early days of the pandemic and the events following the death of George Floyd. She reaches back to this not so distant history with a lot of care and manages to shed new light on it.
DAY 2: Clothing you love to wear
I packed a brand new pair of pajamas when I went to the hospital to have my son. They were nothing special — just a $30 set from Target. But putting them on after laboring and giving birth and recovering felt like real luxury. I still like to wear them on the coziest days.
DAY 3: Emotions you feel frequently
Seeing my son grow, I feel so much joy and awe. Seeing him roll over for the first time was something I gasped over. Now he’s on the verge of walking, and it’s really something that fills me with a lot of wonder and gratitude.
DAY 4: A color you enjoy seeing
I saw a woman at the mall the other day in a stunning emerald skirt, and I had to stop her. It was so loud an unexpected! I feel like there’s a lot of very neutral dressing happening right now, so seeing a bright pop brings me joy. For the record: I was in an oversized college sweatshirt and a navy hat with “Camembert” stitched on it. Fashion!
DAY 5: What you find comforting
There’s something I find supremely comforting about being in our home, snuggled up in bed or on the couch and watching the snow. We had an early snow this fall, and watching it come down made me feel so much ease.
DAY 6: The best season of the year
I love the transition of fall. I love spending the early weeks outside at farmers markets, orchards, and fairs, and as it gets later, I like to embrace staying in to bake something homey or just to relax on the couch with something that feels like fall. For me, that’s Twin Peaks, various ghost shows, and every Thanksgiving episode of Bob’s Burgers.
DAY 7: Songs you love to listen to
During my maternity leave, I made a playlist of all the songs I liked to listen to with our son. That list captures a very particular moment in time. Our first months together, lots of bonding, lots of snuggles. I listen to those songs when I need a little comfort or want to reminisce about that time. I’m grateful to my past self for putting it together.
I’ll be keeping up with this series all November long. Share what you’re thankful for below, and stay tuned for new editions every Friday.
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