Running water. We turn on the faucet, there it is. The pressure might not be great, maybe it’s warm instead of hot. It might smell of sulphur or chlorine.

Air. Sometimes it stinks. Depending on the time of year and the place we live, there are bugs. There may be fog, or smoke, but it is air.

Birds. I love birds. The type doesn’t matter. They are fascinating, always looking for something to eat. Their singing is beautiful, and they have perfect pitch.

I am not thankful for mosquitoes, except as food for birds, bats, fish, and other bugs. However, the fact I find it hard to be thankful for bats makes it difficult to be thankful for their food.

Laughter. I love laughing until tears roll and my stomach hurts, especially when I’m not supposed to be laughing. One time in a university class, I was tired after a long day of student teaching. A classmate said something funny and we started laughing. The more we tried to stop, the harder we laughed. It was glorious!

“I can tell who teaches middle school students because they’re starting to act like them,” the professor said.

That didn’t help. I was literally crying before I was finally able to calm down.

The best laughter happens at church. There is a verse that says something about a merry heart being like medicine. Church is one of those places where we don’t usually laugh, which makes it even better. It’s like forbidden fruit that tastes wonderful.

I’m thankful for coffee. I’m also thankful for tea, believe it or not. We have a cup of peppermint tea every night, usually with ice cream.

I have an odd question for you. Have you ever noticed that eating a “Peppermint Pattie” while drinking coffee tastes like cigarette ashes smell? No kidding! If you don’t believe me, try it.

Part of thankfulness for coffee is being thankful for the places we drink it. Places like Battle Alley Coffee Shop in Holly, Michigan, are amazing. It’s really a good thing Holly is an hour away from where we live. I would be at Battle Alley Coffee Shop every day. A good coffee shop makes the coffee taste even better.

I’m thankful for bandaids. I almost always injure myself in some minor way while I’m working on a project. “If dad’s bleeding, it’s gonna be great,” is the joke at our house.

Trains. I have loved trains my whole life. I’m partial to steam locomotives. Watching a steam engine is like a concerto for the eyes. The moving parts all work together perfectly like a great symphony orchestra in a thundering crescendo, bellowing smoke and steam from the depths.

Puppies. I should just say animals, especially young ones. We’ve had more experience with puppies and kittens than we have, say, baby skunks, or raccoons, or squirrels. I did have a calf sleeping on my lap one time. I sat down in a park with a bag full of peanuts in my hand and a squirrel climbed right up on my knee and helped himself. I loved it.

Well, that’s eight, and eight is a good number of things to be thankful for.

I would also say Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs, but that would be nine.