My scalawags eat enough apples to keep the doctor away from our entire neighborhood. I’m talking like, four apples a day. Each. I love it that they love apples, but, goodness gracious that’s a lot of peeling and cutting.
In our kitchen, I have a little apple cutting station. (Not the kind of thing I ever thought I would ever have to say.) It is comprised of three useful objects. Firstly, a small but very pretty wood cutting board.
Years ago, my mother-in-law gifted us with a strange little peeler made by the same company that makes the Swiss Army knife (it’s called Victorinox.) I wish I knew what made this little peeler so much better than any other peeler I have ever used, but it is just that wonderful. It lives in my apple cutting station.
The people over at Ikea (and probably plenty of other places, too), have invented this amazing little device to guillotine those apples into submission. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky and the boys are really hungry, they will come help me guillotine the apples.
I am so grateful for these little objects that make cutting and peeling apples so much easier so that I can keep those children supplied in their drug of choice.
Does this seem like an insignificant thing to be grateful for?
Maybe it is.
I’m not usually a gadget person, but these little useful objects have significantly improved my quality of life.
Oh! And our worm farm! I am so grateful for our worm farm. (Your what? Saying it twice doesn’t make it more comprehensible!)
Although we live in an apartment, we are able to compost our kitchen scraps with this fantastically weird thing that provides a home for little earthworms who like to eat our leftovers, and notably, love to eat apple peels. Yay!
I bet you have a few of those couldn’t-live-without-them objects in your life, too. While it might feel trivial to say out loud that we are thankful for “objects”, I would argue that contentment starts here. It starts with being aware of those things that make our lives better, and although I wouldn’t go so far as to say we should revere objects (I dunno, that peeler is sumthin’ else!), at least giving them an extra good wash and dry with the active thought, “Boy oh boy, I’m glad you exist” is a healthy way to develop contentment in our own hearts.
One of my greatest longings is to find contentment. Being thankful for the little things puts me on the right path. Sometimes, when I least expect it, this thankfulness can flip my mindset and make me feel like “the center of the universe.” Most unexpectedly, when I am peeling my eighth apple of the day.
Sing With Your Feet 