30 Things I’m Thankful to to Know at 30

Last week, I was able to visit Nan in her nursing home. Nan suffers from vascular dementia (along with an array of various ailments). This is my second grandmother to suffer from a loss of mind prior to a loss of body. There is something extremely sad about watching someone who was once incredibly sharp be reduced to confusion and puzzlement. Her long-term memory is still fairly strong, but her short-term memory is not nearly what it was.

I turn 30 this Thanksgiving week. I’m a far cry from where Nan is now in years, and from where Granny was when she passed away from Alzheimer’s. However, as one who believes there is strength in “mind over matter,” I’m committing to memory those moments, feelings, and revelations that have made my 30 years worthwhile.

Without further ado, here are:

30 Things I’m Thankful to Know at 30

1. Good, hot, strong black coffee can solve a heap of problems… or at least make it to where I can face them.
2. You get what you pay for in footwear—there is a reason they are “buy 1 pair of boots, get 2 free” on Broadway Street.
3. John 3:16, Proverbs 16:24, & Mark 12:30-31.
4. My limitations… physical, mental, & emotional.
5. How to drive a stick shift.
6. The sweet, fresh scent of my mother and her perfume.
7. Where I come from.
8. The microwave was not intended to be a dryer….
9. Saints like Billy Graham, Tim Tebow, and Pastor Jay Dennis
10. If there is a zombie apocalypse, I need to call my brother. He’s definitely going to survive, and will only complain a little as I slow him down.
11. How to catch crawdads and bait a hook.
12. Atticus and Scout and Boo of To Kill a Mockingbird.
13. I can’t solve a single problem with worry—but I can sure pray about them.
14. Cornbread goes with everything. Nan taught me this, as she always made it when we had Chinese take-out.
15. How to sew on a button.
16. My father’s determination and character.
17. The majority of people want to be good and do what is right.
18. The sound of my children laughing together.
19. No dying person ever said, “I wish I had slept more.”
20. I can’t please everyone, especially when I’m my own worst critic.
21. Every puppy is cute. Ugly ones are the cutest.
22. What an ERA, RBI, and K is.
23. The lyrics of Amazing Grace, My Old Kentucky Home, and Ice, Ice, Baby.
24. Quality really is better than quantity.
25. There is no such thing as awkward silence.
26. How to save a life with CPR.
27. Freedom.
28. The touch of my husband.
29. Mom was right.
30. Jesus loves me, this I know.

This Thanksgiving, what are you thankful to know at your age?