The family and I are up north in the Upper Peninsula to make repairs on my mom's cabin and to spend Thanksgiving together. I write this tonight next to a warm hearth with my kids making gingerbread houses behind me, and even though the world at large is on fire, in here it's comically wholesome.
I've been looking forward to this work weekend for a long time. It sounds counterintuitive, but I relax when I have a woodworking project to tackle. Measuring, cutting, and building with a cup of coffee (gathering sawdust next to me) is nostalgic. I absolutely love the feeling of watching something come together.
Plus let's be honest: I love the control.
I'm a control freak. (Shocking). And I've read a few books about how not to be a control freak. But I've made peace with the fact that I'll always be one. At work, at home, and out in the world, I feel helpless because there are countless moving parts that are out of my control. But when I have a project? I'm as cool as a cucumber. There's nothing that brings peace to a control freak like taking a project from start to finish and watching it turn out the way you'd hoped.
Reader, I have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. But mostly just grateful for another year of life. Getting older is nice. I've made so much peace with who I am. At this stage in my life, I realize life is less about becoming better, and more about becoming comfortable with who we are.
Whether you're a control freak or easy going, an introvert or an extrovert, a lover of white meat, dark meat, or no meat, I wish you a Thanksgiving of peace and acceptance with knowing who you are and loving what you love. See you next Monday. -Em
