John Phipps: Thankfulness is Not Weather-Based

Each year Tyne reminds me about my Harvest of Thanks commentary. The video guys like gorgeous fall foliage, but timing that can be tricky. Our trees are bare by Thanksgiving except for the oak tree which apparently has trouble saying goodbye. I’m recording this earlier than normal, and November can have many days like this for one thing.

There are upsides for me, though, by being early. I don’t have shoot with the sun in my eyes and wearing good clothes really wouldn’t fit. Above all, getting my work in early might make Tyne’s Thanksgiving a little more stress-free. Another familiar commentary element is the harvest on our farm, which as you can see isn’t done for two reasons. The early shoot and the fact this harvest is one of the many things we are particularly thankful for.

Both the corn and soybean crops were happy surprises, but how you can get that much corn off 5” ears baffles me. Our elevators are clogged, trains hard to schedule, and bins rapidly filling. Then you have days like this. November is famous for them. 

Thanksgiving shouldn’t be a weather-dependent celebration. Gratitude doesn’t watch the 6-10 day forecast. Happily at my age it gets easier to ignore what’s going on outside while practicing the skill of thankfulness. If I can still participate in harvest at all, for instance, that’s a blessing. Even the monotony of fill-the-truck, empty-the-truck is a rhythmic joy that triggers wonderful memories of autumns past.

I always think of my father at harvest, for instance. When the trucks work, when the corn is dry, when the wind is not blowing beeswings in your face, when your water bottle doesn’t drip on your sandwich, when you don’t meet too many grain carts on the way to the elevator loaded, when familiar old aches give you a day off, when this year’s losses and griefs abide a little easier, when a neighbor or dealer goes the extra mile to help you recover from a breakdown, when once-a-year Thanksgiving hymns are sung with friends – none of these gifts depend on brilliant blue skies or trees splashed with vibrant colors.

Thanksgiving lifts us above dreary days to help us savor what we have and what we anticipate. Whatever you see outside your window, I hope this holiday creates a little sunshine inside your heart and may gratitude for overlooked blessings this year fill your thoughts.