Some of the things that become the most meaningful parts of our lives are never the things we plan to treasure. Sometimes, they are the simplest things we bring home on an ordinary afternoon, never imagining that years later, they will hold so many memories.
For me, that little treasure is a white Rae Dunn ceramic pumpkin I found at Marshall’s in the fall of 2019.
I remember bringing it home and placing it right in the center of our kitchen table. It was simple, white, and perfectly suited to my love of seasonal decor. I thought it would be a pretty addition to our home for the fall. Little did I know that it would become so much more than that.
At the time, William was in fourth grade and Angelina was in eighth grade. Our days were filled with the usual busyness of family life. School, homework, activities, dinner, and all the little things that fill the hours when you are raising children. Like most families, we were often moving from one thing to the next, sometimes without stopping long enough to appreciate the ordinary moments happening right in front of us.
As November approached, I decided to do something a little different.
I asked everyone in our family—me, my husband Jim, Angelina, and William—to write one thing we were grateful for on the pumpkin every day throughout the month of November.
It was such a simple idea. Nothing elaborate, no special supplies, and no complicated plans. Just a little white pumpkin sitting on our kitchen table, waiting for each of us to pause for a moment and think about something good in our lives.
And so, we began.
Each day, someone would pick up a marker and add a few words to the pumpkin. A small reminder of something that mattered. Something we appreciated. Something we might otherwise have overlooked in the middle of a busy day.
I love the idea of those four different perspectives coming together on one little pumpkin. Jim, me, Angelina, and William, each with our own thoughts, experiences, and reasons to be thankful.
Our children were at such different stages of growing up. William was still in elementary school, while Angelina was navigating the world of middle school. Their lives, interests, and concerns were different, just as ours were as adults. Yet, for that one little November tradition, we all had the same invitation: stop, reflect, and recognize something we were grateful for.
There is something beautiful about that.
We often talk about gratitude as though it needs to be expressed through grand gestures or saved for special occasions. We hear about giving thanks at Thanksgiving, making lists of blessings, or remembering what matters most when life becomes difficult.
But gratitude can be much smaller than that.
It can be found in a favorite meal, a good day at school, time spent together, a kind gesture, a healthy family, or simply having a place to come home to at the end of the day.
Sometimes, it is the little things that deserve the biggest acknowledgment.
I think about that fall now, and I wonder how often we realized that we were creating a memory while we were living it. At the time, it was just something fun to do together. A little family activity to make November feel special.
We weren't trying to create an heirloom. We weren't thinking about how we might feel about that pumpkin years later. We were simply a family making a small effort to be more intentional about gratitude.
And yet, here we are, years later.
That little white pumpkin has become my favorite piece of decor.
Every fall, when I bring it out, I am reminded of November 2019. I think about the kitchen table where it sat, the children who gathered around it, and the family we were at that particular moment in time.
I think about how quickly childhood passes and how the everyday routines that sometimes feel endless are actually the very things we will miss one day.
Fourth grade and eighth grade feel like such specific little chapters of our lives now. The children have grown, the years have passed, and our family has continued to change in all the ways families do. But that pumpkin remains.
It is no longer just a piece of seasonal decoration. It is a reminder of a moment when we intentionally made space for gratitude in our home.
And perhaps that is why I love it so much.
It reminds me that the most meaningful traditions do not have to be expensive, elaborate, or Pinterest-perfect. They do not need to take hours of preparation or require us to buy anything at all. Sometimes, all it takes is one small idea and a willingness to slow down.
As a mom, a teacher, and someone who has always believed in the importance of nurturing the heart alongside the mind, I find myself thinking about this tradition in a way that reaches beyond our own family.
Children learn so much from what we model. They learn how to treat others by watching us. They learn empathy when we encourage them to consider someone else's feelings. They learn kindness when they see small acts of kindness valued in everyday life.
And they can learn gratitude when we make it part of our daily routines rather than something we remember only when the calendar tells us to give thanks.
Our little pumpkin gave us a tangible way to practice that. It invited each of us to look for something good, even on an ordinary day. It reminded us that gratitude doesn't require everything in life to be perfect. It simply asks us to notice what we have and appreciate it.
I have always believed that the ordinary moments are often the extraordinary ones in disguise.
A family gathered around a kitchen table. Children growing up before our eyes. A simple tradition repeated day after day. A white ceramic pumpkin purchased on an ordinary shopping trip.
Who would have thought that something so small would become one of my favorite things to unpack each fall?
As I decorate our home this year, I am reminded once again that the best decorations are not always the prettiest or the trendiest. Sometimes, they are the ones that tell our stories.
This little pumpkin tells one of mine.
It tells the story of a November when our family made gratitude a daily practice. It reminds me of Angelina and William at those ages, of Jim and me during that season of parenting, and of the beauty of finding joy in the everyday.
And it reminds me that even when the month of November ends, gratitude is something we can carry with us all year long.
So, if you are looking for a simple family tradition this fall, perhaps you don't need to look any further than your kitchen table. Find a pumpkin, a jar, a notebook, or even a scrap of paper. Invite everyone in your family to share one thing they are grateful for each day.
You may be surprised by how much meaning grows from such a small beginning.
I know I was.
Because that little white pumpkin from Marshall’s in the fall of 2019 has become so much more than a piece of decor.
It is a piece of our family history.
And every year when I place it back on display, I am grateful all over again.
Sometimes, the things we are most grateful for are the memories we never knew we were making.
Thank you for visiting the blog and taking the time to read this post.
With gratitude,
Jennifer
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