grateful

Thai Tea

in

I give thanks and praises as I brew the tea—

tea leaves and spices from distant lands

their journey long, their origins far

How fortunate we are to hold such gifts

how blessed I am to prepare this warmth

for the ones who fill this house with love

I never curse the dirty dishes

the endless rhythm of cooking and cleaning.

For there are those who would give anything

anything at all, to hear laughter echo again

to feel the weight of a shared meal

to set a table for more than one

It is always sudden, even when planned—

the silence that settles like dust

The kettle boils for no one but you now

a lone cup sits idle on the counter

And the kitchen, once alive with purpose

becomes a quiet place of learning:

how to cook for one, how to live alone

The tea is bittersweet as it cools in my hands.

~ Pretty Thunder

Cool Water Tonight

in , ,

It’s after midnight here. I just turned on the water to wash my hands and it’s ice cold. I bent down and drank from the pipe and am so grateful. Images pass through my mind of times water was so scarce. Toting water deep in the bush in Wassembo. There was a narrow dirt path in the village. One had to carry a Bamboo pole about 12 to 15 feet long, with a bucket at the end of it. Once at the water source, you had to put it down the hole, catch water and bring it back up. Then walk back to the village.

~Pretty Thunder

Grateful for Sweet Potatoes

in ,

I don’t really have deep thoughts these days, if I do, I don’t know that they’re deep. Tonight, standing in the kitchen, peeling and chopping sweet potatoes. I’m so grateful. I often think about the women working hard in remote villages that I’ve traveled to. How they process their provisions, how they process their cassava. Backbreaking work with very little tools. Fufu drying in the compound. My young friend walking down a dusty dirt road to get the cassava for dinner. Grateful for the small pieces of meat. Greens, tomatoes and ground nuts. I search for the fat in my bowl. #smallthoughts #grateful