Thanks . …

When you wake up in the morning you never completely know what will come your way in the day. Lately I’ve been trying to keep my eyes open to what is the unexpected pleasure that the day brings.

Friday I got up early and had breakfast with my friend Tony. We meet early at the Country Waffle Shop across the street. The place opens at 6 A.M. We have our usual items: Tony gets eggs and sausage and coffee. I get tea, two scrambled eggs and sourdough toast which I smother in grape and strawberry jam.

And we talk. We laugh. It’s a great time. Then, during baseball practice after school, on the same Friday as I’m hitting fly balls to the outfielders, two friends, Simon and Natasha, come walking up.

My friends say they can’t stay; they are home for Natasha’s mom’s wedding. They saw me and stopped to say “Hi”óto get and give hugs and love. They have to leave but I savor just the few moments I get.

I love these friends of mine. We have lots of common ground. Mostly they seem like a gift to me, like a dependable car, a good dog, a mountain cabin, a place at the beach, good health. Nobody deserves this kind of thing.

When you have it, if you’re smart, you see it for what it isóa gift. And when a gift is given, it seems so wrong to me not to say “thank you.” So who do I say “thanks” to for these friends of mine?

I tell them thanks for the joy they bring. It seems like God brought them into my life, so I tell him thanks too. And then I live thankfully.

I keep my eyes open and look for people and glimpses of this way of being. And I thank every person I can for any kind of gift they give. I tell waitresses: “Thanks for the water.” I tell a student who opens a door for me when my hands are full: “Thanks, that’s kind of you.”

Anyone who asks me “How are you doing?”, I reply by saying, “Thanks for asking!” because it seems so incredibly undeserved that someone would take an interest in me.

I often feel deeply repentant during the day if I went to bed the night before with complaint in my soul. I’m sad to say it’s been all too common of a way for me over the past decade and some.

It’s a lot better when I slip under the covers, read a bit, grow sleepy, and then utter a “Thank you” to the Lord for how good my life is. And my life is as good as anyone I know.

My hope is that my students become more and more thankful for their lives. For most of them it is very good. I know they know it; I’m the teacher so I remind them of things they already know.

So be thankful, live thankfully, and don’t forget to thank God for friends.

Got to go to baseball practice.