THE BACK-UP

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 298

Gotta be forthright: as with any day, I have lots and lots to be thankful for today. Okay, for starters, I awoke this morning in total peace, snuggled in with the mutts keeping the bed toasty warm. Man, I was super comfy and really didn’t want to get up. But work and life call.

Now, my wife turning on the lights and waking me in the middle of a splendid dream—and no, you dirty-minded people, not one of those kinds of dreams—well, I wasn’t all that grateful for that. (I don’t know why, but I was dreaming that I was an Olympic bobsledder in a two-person sled. We were competing for the gold and guaranteed at least the bronze. And just before the final run, BAM! The lights came on. What if we’d won? Hahahah!) Such silliness, right?

Anyway, the morning was uneventful but productive, prepping for Sunday’s Bible study. Then, it was off to a luncheon meeting with the local ministerium. I’m thankful for the time to be able to study, then to gather with my pastor friends for a time of fellowship.

By 1 PM—I just realized I’m giving you a boring play-by-play, sorry—I picked up "Miss Piggy" from Schweiss Meats. It’s a pleasure, IMHO, to support our local farmers and meat packers. Today, I stocked our freezer with 61 lbs of farm-raised pork that’s gotta be healthier, tastier, and certainly better than anything from big ag. I’m thankful for the farmer who raised the hog, the meat market that processed it, and for our good God who supplied the means to make the purchase.

Well, speaking of Miss Piggy, Danielle had planned on making some Dubliner mac-n-cheese tonight — oh my, so tasty —topped off with chopped bacon. BUT, what happened to the bacon?

“Honey, where’d that bacon go that I had thawing on the stove?” she asked.

“Ummm…..” I had to think about it. “Maybe I accidentally put it away with the bacon that was a part of our half-hog?” I quipped, shrugging my shoulders questioningly.

Sure enough, she dug around in our new cryogenic chest and found the smoky goodness, resolidified back to an unnatural state. Ugh, I thought to myself. Neither of us wanted to go out: I’d just eaten out for lunch, and we'd treated ourselves the other day, too.

“Frozen pizza?” she asked.

She made her a chicken-ranch za-za (not my thing), and I grabbed a leftover brat, sandwiched between a single-slice of bread. What we wanted will have to wait till tomorrow. That said, thank goodness for the back-up!

I’ve said this before and will say it again: I’m uber-grateful for freezers and cupboards filled with food. I am beyond blessed by the Lord and never want to take his provision for granted.

As I mentioned, I have tons to be thankful for today. How about you? What’s something you weren’t expecting today for which you can still give thanks?