Day 159 of Thanksgiving.......

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Today I am so very Thankful for my Warm Comfy Bed!  We are having a cold snap here and I am so very thankful that I have a warm soft old bed to sleep in.  When the weather gets like this I am always reminded of how many people are without a safe warm and comfortable place to lie their heads at night.  How awful it must be to spend your days wandering the streets only to end the day by trying to find warmth in an old box or newspapers for cover.  The only thing wrong with my bed is that it makes it really hard to get up in the morning.  How very fortunate we are to have the things we take for granted.

Day 158 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Neighbors!  We have been so very fortunate in the wonderful people that we share a street with!  For years we lived in a little house in a good sized neighborhood and that was awesome - always lots of people around and we all grew up together with our kids.  Then we moved here 8 years ago last month and it is a very small old neighborhood and we weren't sure how we would fit in because we were sort of the new kids on the block.  Well no need to worry - we have wonderful people all around us and I am so very thankful every day.  Back a few years ago, my sweet nurse neighbor Cheryl came to my rescue and stayed with me while I waited on an ambulance during a scary heart arrhythmia - she made me feel so at ease and I will always be so thankful that she was there.  Her hubby Sid helped my youngest jump off his battery just this morning so that he could get to work on time.  On the other side is Jack and he helps with any number of things - if something breaks down or you need a tool of any kind, he is there and he also makes a killer spaghetti sauce!  Down the street is Kim who opens her house for football games and holiday parties and more.  The young lady who lives with her Mom down the hill in front of us welcomes our wayward dog who jumps the fence and eats her cat's food and treats him like one of her own.  There is Leah and her hubby who live on the corner and she went to school with one of our boys and is always ready with a smile and a wave.  When one of our boys got married in our backyard this year, not one of them complained about the deluge of cars on our street - it was awesome!  We are so very fortunate to have the wonderful people all around us and there is just nothing like a good neighbor!!

Day 157 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for our Home!  Many times it is bursting with laughter and people we love and we are so grateful for it.  So many people in the world don't have a warm safe place to call home and so many have lost their homes during the last few years.  Now, Hurricane Sandy has brought this all to mind again and each of us who is fortunate enough to have a place to call our own where we live with those we love, are so very blessed.  It's so amazing, a home can be big or small, one story or more, but when you walk through that door there is no better feeling.  Ours is old and not so big, but it is bursting at the seams with Thanksgiving and Love!

Day 156 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful again for Friends!  There are so many types of friends - close ones, online friends, lifelong ones, neighbors and more.  I have been so very blessed to meet some wonderful women during the last few years that support the Binky Patrol SC.  They give freely and for no reason other than to share from the heart without anything in return.  Through the process of trying to find people to get involved and do the work, I received a message from a wonderful absolute angel and her name is Anita Black.  Without her there would be no Binky Patrol Chapter in South Carolina.  Look in the dictionary under Angel and you will find her pictured there.  She is our quilter extraordinaire and just when I want to give up and think that just the few of us cannot do this, she comes up with a new idea or project and......she makes it happen.  She is talented, thrifty, creative and she just oozes love and positivity!  You absolutely cannot not know Anita and not love her - it is impossible. If you know her then you will know this little Angel is so her - not just floating about but running to be of service to those in need with a beautiful smile!!  Nita...my dear friend and fellow soldier I love you dearly and am so very Thankful for you today!!

Day 155 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Community!!  Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to see a part of our community at it's best when we attended the annual Festival of Trees.  This is a fundraising event put on by a local group, The Palmetto Health Foundation.  What an awesome collaboration of talent this was.  The convention center was beautifully decorated by Christmas Trees and other decorations created and donated by the community.  All of these items are auctioned off to raise money for health care in our community.  During the event pictures of beautiful children who have been saved through treatment at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital flashed on giant screens.  What better way to begin the holiday celebration and what a joy to see the inspiring stories of these miracles!  Community is truly an awesome thing when it works!!

Day 154 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Generous Hearts!  I have mentioned before that I volunteer with the Binky Patrol SC and I so love this - it gives me purpose and allows me to give back a little.  Since I have been unable to work, this group allows me to meet wonderful people and do small things to help.  Today I found the most wonderful surprise waiting on my front porch - bags full of beautiful handmade blankets to be sent up to New York and New Jersey!  This has just made my day and filled me once again with the believe that if you have a need and let others know, they will provide.  I am beyond thankful and humbled by generous and loving hearts today!!!  Thank you so much Kim, Jo Ann and Taylor Rae!! - you give me faith!

Day 153 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am again so very Thankful for my Hubby!  This morning he had a car accident and we are so blessed that it wasn't bad and both he and the other driver walked away just a little sore and achy.  I keep thinking about the phone call I could have gotten telling a much different story.  He works very hard and he works lots of hours and then he works really hard around our house.  I worry about him driving tired or weary and when he called me this morning to tell me he had had an accident, all I could think about is how very blessed we are because he is fine.  The car - not so much but that can be fixed.  Thank heavens for my Hubby!

Day 152 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for my Daughters-In-Law!  I now have three and as the mother of all boys, I really appreciate them so much.  They bring joy, beauty and so much love to our lives every day.  Shopping for girly things and hair doodads are among the other benefits.  We are very fortunate indeed to have three beautiful young women as a part of our family now.  Go Pink!!

Day 151 fo Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Social Media.  While many are negative and disgruntled with social media, I have to be honest that I am very thankful for it.  My niece and I recently discussed the fact that it is a blessing as well as a negative thing.  For me, someone who rarely leaves home, it has been a connection to friends and family as well as a connection to other crafters.  Twitter and FaceBook have allowed us to come together and provide blankets, hats and booties and more to so many in need and it gives many of us purpose in life.  I have met so many wonderful people and we share and pray together over life's valleys and smile and cry together over life's joys. 

Day 150 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for my Family!  I know I have talked about them many times before, but I believe they deserve some extra thanks!  My four Boys and my Hubby are my life and they make life worth living!  Whenever I meet someone new, or even in short conversation with people, I will do my best to work into the conversation that I have four boys!  That fact is my greatest joy and most wonderful achievement.  Not to say that I have done anything extraordinary - I am just so proud of them and who they have become - they deserve all of the credit!  My life is so full of wonderful memories of their lives and a day doesn't go by that Hubby and I don't reminisce about things they have said and done.  What a joy they are!!   And now they have brought wonderful girlies into our lives...what a joy and a blessing they all are.

Day 149 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Quiet Time!  When I was much younger, I had a wonderful friend that I worked with and she was a bit older than me.  She would tell me that she would be up early in the morning and I could never understand how it took her so long to get ready for our 8:30 start time.  Then one day she told me that she had trouble getting out of her chair where she would sit quietly with her cup of coffee and her small dogs and contemplate her day.  What??  I was the Mom of small boys and once I crawled out of bed there was no sitting - only in the final leg of my drive to the office did I sit and relax - just a little.  Well now I am older too and no longer working and I so cherish my sitting quiet time each and every day possible.  I see how friends are doing online, say prayers for those who need them, think about my day and most important of all, enjoy a cup of coffee and feel so very thankful for my life, my family and yes my fur babies too.  What a blessing a little quiet time can be!!  What a blessed perspective it can give.  For someone like me who tends to fill quiet with way too much chatter, the old adage about being still and quiet to hear the whisper of angels is so very true.

Day 148 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for our Military and all of those who have suffered and sacrificed for our safety and the lives we live!  I saw the most awesome little cartoon this morning and the caption was "Thanksgiving is when we are thankful for the things we have; Veteran's Day is when we pause to be Thankful for the people who fought for the things we have!"  This is so awesomely true and so easy to forget and loose sight of.  Right now our family has a young person serving in Portugal and this helps us to know how important this service is.  Thank you Anna - we love you and miss you so much!!!

Day 147 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Joy of Crafting!  I know I have talked about this before but after seeing this graphic today, it brought to mind again how much crafting gets me through life!  I craft for causes because my family has had enough of things that I try to create and because it gives me some small way to give back.  This weekend, while going through my stash with my husband, I was trying to explain to him how this works - that is the process of how a crafter looks at things differently and this passion is always always in our minds!  I think I will print this and frame it for him for Christmas - how crafty is that???

Day 146 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Wisdom of Others!  So many times in life we are unsure of what to do or think or feel.  This is one of those times in my life and I am so very thankful for the inspiration and love that I feel from those around me who seek to understand life and what is truly important.  Each day I gain inspiration and thought provoking ideas and information from others who know so much more than me.  I am so very thankful that there will always be those who provide a smile, a good thought, and wisdom beyond their years with all of us.

Day 145 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Freedom to Vote!  We are so very fortunate in this country to have this privilege and we all need to take advantage of it.  We cannot complain and grouse if we don't get involved and cast our ballot.  While I may not always agree with others around me, I can walk into that booth and vote my heart and for what I believe in and that is a truly amazing wonderful awesome good thing!!

Day 144 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Blessings of Marriage!  Three of my Boys are now married and I am so very thankful they have found someone to love and to love them.  There is no greater joy in life than to see your children happy.  We have celebrated two of their weddings this year and they both were truly magical as was my oldest son's which took place seven years ago.  My hubby and I have known each other for almost 30 years and have been married for 27 plus.  While the road is not always easy and some days are definitely better than others, I wouldn't trade this life and each and every day I am so very thankful that I have a partner to share this life with along with my Boys and their Girls!

Day 143 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Support of Others!  Having a chronic illness has taught me, like nothing else, that the support of those who understand you is essential.  It is very hard for others to understand something they cannot personally relate to and I completely understand.  For those of us who don't have an obvious illness - one that is not detectable easily, we suffer much stigma and anger from others.  Recently I found a new support group online and I have been so pleasantly surprised by their welcome and openness - it is just awesome.  This group has been the impetus to get me writing again and best of all, the feeling of not being so alone in my quest for making the best of this life even though it is different than the one I had planned.  Through our support of each other we all shine together and we are able to accomplish much!

Day 142 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Donuts!  Yep - you read that right - donuts - a heavenly concoction that we don't allow ourselves to enjoy very often now that we are on the other side of 50!   We have had a new Dunkin Donuts in the making for several weeks now very near our favorite place for Chinese takeout.  Finally it has opened and tonight we went by for a sample.  Gone are the days when we could bring home a dozen or two and enjoy them over several days.  Now we only get a few and no leftovers - that way we don't overdo.  Tonight we tried the Pumpkin and it was awesome.  Such a small little extravagance but so enjoyable and since it is Fall and I love everything Pumpkin, it was a double delight!!

Day 141 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Guidepost! For many years of my adult life I have read and devoured each yearly edition of Daily Guidepost.  If you are not familiar with this publication, it is a daily devotional book that comes out each year from the publishers of Guidepost magazine.  The most awesome thing about it is, is that it is written by a group of authors that come back year after year and over the years they have become like family.  I can't wait to crack open each new edition and see how they are doing and if there is anyone new.  The sad part of any new edition is when there is a loss of a long time author.  I feel so close to them and feel compelled to say a prayer for those they leave behind.  Years ago I bought a copy and gave it to a dear long time friend.  Years later when we went through a hard time and could not afford to buy them, she in turn started sending them to me each year.  What a blessing and a joy to open my mail box and find a fresh new one for the coming year.  I find old copies all over my house - I have reread old ones, donated them and just plain hoarded them.  You will see me swipe ideas and quotes from them quite often as well.  I can't say enough about what the Guidepost Daily Devotional books have meant to me and Thank you so very much to my Dear Friend Sandy! 

Day 140 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Merry-Go-Rounds!  Okay - I will explain.  There is a line in the movie Parenthood where the Grandmother tells a story about how many people like merry-go-rounds because they are safe and you just go round and round.  She goes on to say that she prefers the roller coaster because it makes her stomach go up and down and it is much more exciting.  She used this as a metaphor for family life when her Granddaughter finds out that she is expecting another child at an inopportune time.  Well, I have to admit that in our family we have had lots of roller coaster rides and as much as I like excitement and thrills, I am thinking that I truly like the merry-go-round so much better at this stage of life.  Yes it does just go round and round and the scenery is pretty much the same but that's just fine with me.  I am not even talking a horse seat here - I will take one of the benches at this point.  I even like the repetitive music and pastel colors.  I know - I know, we can't stay on the merry-go-round, but couldn't I ride it for at least a bit?

Day 139 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Happiness of My Children!  As a parent, they say you can only be as happy as your least happy child.  I would agree with that and add that the older our children get, the harder it is to deal with their unhappiness.  I truly can think of nothing more heart wrenching than when one of my boys is in pain and hurting - physically, mentally or otherwise.  When they are adults, we are so powerless to ease their pain or fix the wrongs for them and that helplessness is an ache in the gut that is like no other.  I am an anxious worry wart when there is something amiss with one of them and I can't wrangle my thoughts to anything else until I know for myself that they are better.  When they are all doing well and happy, or at least okay, then I am one Happy Momma.  I am so very thankful for those times!

Day 138 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Seeing things through the eyes of my children.  One of the most joyful parts of being a parent is seeing life through our children as they grow and learn.  All things become new again to us and we are amazed at every day things just because they are.  We learn to see the simplicity in life again.  My youngest - my baby boy (he hates that) is now 17 and is doing all of those once in a lifetime things that you never forget.  He had his senior pictures taken today and he looked so handsome in the tux prop they provided for the picture.  He allowed me to come along and I so enjoyed seeing him pose with ease and the smile on his face when the photographer made mention of his curls and gently tucked them back into place.  I was very inept in high school, clumsy and uncomfortable with myself and I didn't enjoy anything like this. I still remember his first day of preschool, when his teacher told the class a story, she later told me that he said Good Job and gave her a thumbs up when she was finished.   As my boys have grown and matured, it has given me great joy to see them navigate their way through these firsts and actually be able to enjoy them.  I hope they will have wonderful memories of these times when they are old and white haired like me.

Day 137 of Thanksgiving

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Today I am so very Thankful for Reboots!  Not so much the ones your computer needs, although those are necessary as well.  I am thinking about the times in our lives when we get a boost, a restart to begin again.  There are lots of reasons for reboots in life and many times when they are crucial.  In my life I have had a few strong reboots that literally saved me and kept me on track in life.  The loss of a job, a divorce, and even sometimes the loss of a loved one, can become a starting point for growth and enlightenment.  Many times we are blessed with a new perspective and as the old saying goes, when that door closes, a window will very surely pop open where there was none before.  We just have to be aware and looking for the opportunity.

Day 136 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Sailing!  As per usual this is going to sound silly but I have never actually been sailing and I don't really have any desire to.  To be truthful, I technically can't even swim.  But....for most of my adult life I have been so drawn in by sail boats, pictures of sailing, and watching them while at the beach or lake.  It has just come clear to me lately why I feel this impulse - it's not the sailing that intrigues me but the idea of Sailing through life.  To me the idea of sailing - floating on water powered by a breeze is akin to times in life when we are leaning into the wind and enjoying the ride.  It's about not fighting or struggling to live and realizing that we are empowered to make the journey easier - we can make the decision to sail a good bit of the time so that we are rested and ready for times when we must paddle and work hard to keep our boats afloat.  The hardest part is realizing that you can only enjoy Sailing when you give in and relax and don't fight the wind.

Day 135 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Pollyanna!  Taken from the name of the child heroine created by Eleanor Porter (1868–1920), American writer or World English Dictionary states that Pollyanna is a person who is constantly or excessively optimistic.   Full disclosure, I read about Pollyanna in my Guidepost reading today and it brought to mind how many times over the years that I have been accused of being Pollyannaish - with good reason.  I am learning that this is not necessarily a bad thing.  Now I can be just as negative on the other end of the scale as well but the extreme positivity has angered more friends and family in the long run.  I was mulling this over and realized that we all want to be positive and exuberant at times but due to circumstances it is not always within us all the time.  This is especially true during hard or painful times.  As a child I would wear my Pollyanna hat to keep peace and harmony in our little household - sometimes it worked, others not so much.  For years I tamped down the instinct to be optimistic and joyful because it seemed to make others uncomfortable.  Now I realize that it is not the joy and optimism that causes such a reaction but the feeling it may give off to others that they are doing something wrong in not being as joyful at that moment.  As I get older, I have come to the realization that I just have to be me and do my best to see the joy and goodness around me and appreciate it.  Everyone may not get it and I may aggravate some, but that's okay too.

Day 134 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Mirrors!  I know this sounds petty and silly but bear with me.  Today I went out with hubby to dinner with two of the kids.  On our way to the restaurant we stopped off at a Stein~Mart so that I could pick up a sweater as I was wearing a sleeveless dress and I thought I might get chilly.  The dress I was wearing was a simple one that I found in perfect condition at Good Will for six bucks - so exciting.  I had a little blush of color, which I rarely have, thanks to our day at the beach yesterday.  Yep - I was feeling pretty good about myself as I perused the racks and quickly found the perfect lightweight sweater which happened to be 30% off - Score!  As I made my way around the store checking out a few purses and in search of a more comfortable pair of inexpensive shoes, I caught sight of a heavy set older woman out of the corner of my eye.  Argh - I thought, I am so glad that I am losing weight and feeling better about myself and I am looking good.  As I kept moving I noticed that she was coming toward me - what??  Is she smiling at me......to my shock and disdain, the woman was ME!!!  There was a full length mirror propped up against a dress rack and I was looking dead straight into my startled face - old, heavy set and not looking at all like I had imagined!!  Now you may say this is depressing but I chose to see this as a reality check and sort of what my Momma would call a comeuppance!  I was getting way ahead of myself thinking that just because I have lost a few pounds, and I am talking single digits here, that I was so special and better than some frump that was actually me.  Lesson learned - we are all working through stages and at different places in life - no judgements and no put downs!!  We are what we are and we have to love ourselves honestly as well as others.  Oh and maybe I do need to get some bifocals soon!!

Day 133 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for White Hair!  At 55, white hair was surely not one of my dreams or desires - it definitely ages me and no matter how many times I am told I can pull it off - it is still not what most anyone would chose.  But - I do chose hair and I am glad I have hair - as a female being without hair is tough and I surely don't have one of those faces that could pull off that look - trust me!  So I stopped the coloring process a little over four years ago and it was tough.  I plucked my first greys at 16 and it only increased from there.  I started covering it with color at 25!  How exhausting and frustrating because I have that lovely kind of white that is very resistant to the color and it was always peeping out and saying Nana-BooBoo at me in the mirror or any picture.  But I still continued the dance and the futile process of trying to pretend that it wasn't so.  But when it started to thin and I could see the pink scalp peeping out instead of white and grey hair, I decided it was time to call a truce.  Now I am not going to tell you that I am in love with this compromise and at least daily I think um maybe I should try color again.....but good sense prevails and I chose hair.  All of this sounds so trivial and not so noteworthy but I believe it is part of the process of Becoming - as in the Velveteen Rabbit - the years and the love of life show in my face and my hair and I have given in to the worn look of becoming - I did not go quietly but go I did.  At times I tell myself that the white glistens in the right light somewhat like the golden locks I used to dream of - if you squint a little.  Another plus is I get senior discounts without even having to pull out my driver's license - how cool is that??  On a side note - hubby has beautiful white hair and he still looks young and handsome - distinguished - how fair is that??

Day 132 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Vacations!  Hubby is on vacation this coming week and for us that means doing stuff around the house and maybe a day trip along with a dinner out.  This has become the norm for us as week long vacations away from home are now more of a luxury than the routine they used to be.  We have had one of those in the past 10 years and it was wonderful but not in the picture right now.  However - we embrace the notion of Vacation anyway - we eat a little later, stay up a little longer, linger outside more and think V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N thoughts.  Take naps with abandon and watch movies most every night.  These are not things that hubby can do when he is working - he works very hard so when he is off we all get in the notion of relaxation!  Cooking fun dishes and enjoying them - you just knew food had to figure in here - maybe having a dessert.  Yum!!  The goal for me is always to do some things that will make life a little easier and pleasurable after he returns to work such as cleaning out a closet, organizing some drawers, etc.  Stuff dreams are may of - not.....but for me pleasurable just the same.  We will frequently say during the week - don't worry about that cause after all we are on VACATION!!!!  ;o)......we're gonna have some fun!

Day 131 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Enlightenment! I see this word as en-light-enment because the focus is on turning on the light or seeing something clearly for the first time.  Hubby asked me to was this movie with him - The Human Experience and I have to admit I was a bit hesitant.  Sometimes I just don't have the fortitude to see some documentaries that are so very painful and sad and they stay with me for far too long.  The intended purpose I suppose.  I have to admit this one was very different and I would recommend it to everyone!  It is profound and will make you think in a different way about many things.  This docu-drama follows three young men, two of which are brothers and their path as they learn to cope with their past and they grow to see the world differently.  Their joy as well as the joy of those around them during their journey is palpable and inspiring.  If you have ever had an instinct to volunteer or reach out to others less fortunate, you will do so in a different manner after watching this film!  Very Very ENLIGHTENING!!!


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252298/

Day 130 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Freedom to say NO!  I don't like saying No - even to myself but I am learning that it can be very freeing and rewarding.  If you know much about me then you know that I love to eat and it shows.  For the past 4 weeks I have been working hard to eat better - to change my way of eating.  This is not only because I need to lose weight for health reasons but also because I feel better when I eat better.  This past weekend the boys brought home a dozen Krispy Kreme Donuts and normally I would not be able to stop myself from sampling them.  This time I was able to say NO to myself and move on to something else.  It is hard living in a house full of men who have four fold the metabolism that I have and not over eat but I am finding that in learning to say NO to some things, then I can say Yes to other things.  Feeling better, in more control, and a little lighter are some of the benefits.  It's not so bad to learn to Just Say No!!

Day 129 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Ability to Live Vicariously!  As it says on Dictionary.com it means

felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others: a vicarious thrill.  So many times in life, we aren't able to do all of the things we would love to do, but if we allow ourselves to enjoy others participation and joy in their doings, we can experience so much more.  I have an online friend who reminded me of this today.  She has the absolutely most adorable English Bulldog and I so love and enjoy seeing pictures of her and hearing about her adventures!  Most likely I will never have my own Bulldog but I can enjoy hers.  Our sweet niece is in the Air Force and living in the Azores and I love seeing pictures and hearing about all of her and her new hubby's adventures.  I will more than likely never get there but I am enjoying it just the same.  Sometimes enjoying things vicariously can be even better than the real thing and can also allow you to connect with others in a new way all over the world!

Day 128 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Security!  For years my security was tied to my job - I believed as long as I had a good job and hubby did too, (and I never doubted that we would) I would be fine with security.  I have always had faith and feel security from that as well.  But it wasn't really tested because there was always the job thing.  Ah...the bliss of young life and the unknown.  I truly believed that all we had to do was work very hard and the paycheck would always follow - no questions asked.  Well not so much!!  After going through job loss and things I thought only people who didn't want to work experienced, I realized how naive I had been!  I won't go into all of the details - that is another blog and another day - but that is when I began to learn what real security is!  What is there when the paycheck isn't - who is there and how much can you depend on that faith you have been carrying in that backpack of yours?  It's not easy and not always pretty but true security can come from faith and relationships and so much more.  I remember a book that is on my shelf - "Come Before the Storm"  meaning find your faith before you need it and unfortunately I didn't but I do try hard now to put my faith and belief in things other than paychecks and money.  They can always go away.....faith and people who are truly there for you won't!

Day 127 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Pictures!  Pictures - photos - whatever you call them, give us a reboot to our memories and I have a closet full to prove it.  Being a mother, pictures have been a huge part of my life for a very long time.  I always think that if I lost the ability to see my boys as babies and children and then young men, I would just die. Now that sounds melodramatic but i cannot overemphasize their importance to me!  One of my favorite things to do is go through old pictures and it can become quite consuming because I don't like to stop - I enjoy them so much.  Of course they don't enjoy this obsession and most of the time would like to keep that closet door closed tight.  This year is one that truly brings the importance of pictures to mind - two of my boys are getting married and I can't think of anything more important in wedding planning than to have these documentations of the day.  It goes by so fast and is over before you realize it.....but, as in everyday life, we can revisit and go back anytime with the help of our photos - one of my very most prized possessions.  I know one day they will enjoy taking the trip back as well and I will have them here for them when they do.

Day 126 of Thanksgiving......

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Today I am so very Thankful for Exercise!  I don't always like it, well really I mostly don't like it but I am finding that exercise, even just a little can make a real difference in my mood and how I feel.  When I don't want to drag myself off the couch - I crawl on the floor and go through about 10 minutes of stretching, I suddenly feel better and even have energy.  Another great thing about exercise is that all movement counts!  I have been making an effort to walk more around the house while doing chores, sweep the kitchen floor rather than vacuuming it, walking outside with my dogs and fetching the mail myself.  These are all small things but I am able to tell that movement is a little easier and with a little less pain.  As we get older it becomes easier and easier to do a lot of sitting and moving as little as possible.  I have been going down that road for a few years now and just like they say - move or you won't be able to or another favorite use it or lose it!   When I started seeing myself in one of those little scooters, I began to realize that exercise is my friend.  Now if you really need one of those then by all means that is a good thing.  I am just thankful that exercise is helping me keep moving for as long as I can!

Day 125 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Recipes! Today is Sunday and around our house that means family dinner with the boys, their girls and friends.  Hubby has been in the kitchen for hours working on a Greek feast for this week's fare.  The smells roaming through the house are so delicious and I am so looking forward to dinner.  Every now and then he yells to me to look up this recipe or that.  We use online recipes just about everyday and it is such a wonderful resource.  I yell back ingredients, temps and times and he makes it happen.  This process got me to thinking about recipes and how they figure into our lives daily.  Recipes for the food we eat, but also for the way we live our lives.  I am learning that we can discover many things from recipes - I have a plaque hanging in my kitchen that gives a recipe for tenderizing a husband - lots of love and kindness.  Think about all of the recipes we can use to make kindness in our lives - kindness toward our selves and others.  I am thinking I will make a new kind of recipe book!  Recipes for friendship, marriage, parenting, neighboring, the possibilities are endless.

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Today I am so very Thankful for Sowing!  Okay - this is a big bad sounding biblical word but it holds much power!  I so well remember Sunday School when we would read passages aloud and one that always hangs in my memory is You will Reap what you Sow! Alright - so I plant seeds and I get to eat the veggies that grow - right?  Well - there are lots of other interpretations of Sowing and I ran across one this past week on a food site I was reading.  In this reference Sowing was more an act - our acts that are spread out into the world like seeds. Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny. ~ Charles Reader.  In the context on this site it was all about eating right but this could apply to anything in our lives.  Right now I am learning that I actually am what I eat and I reap what I sow as far as what I eat.  Then......brain is clicking......I think further and realize again that everything that we do in life works like seed out into the wind and this makes a ripple - our ripple in the world.  Awesome.....or not - sure makes me think about everything I say and do.  I know we all know this but it sooooo easy to lose sight of.  For me Sowing is going to be in the forefront of my mind!

Dictionary . com:  to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate: to sow distrust or dissension.

Day 123 of Thanksgiving...

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Today I am so very Thankful for Art!  My Dad was an artist - he used to say commercial artist but in reality he was a sign painter.  He made some sort of famous signs around town when I was a child but I didn't get it at the time.  From time to time we would have Jamil Race Cars in our backyard while he was painting signs on them; the face to a huge landmark clock rested on his drawing board while he painted and gold leafed it's numbers and hands; highway patrol cars were lettered and numbered by him; a few local restaurants had his hand lettered signs.  But what I enjoyed were the silly things he drew and scribble and showed me.  One Christmas he made a life size painting of the nativity scene for our church basement.  It was two huge 6 foot tall canvases that had to be attached.  It was glorious and many parts of it contained a glowy substance in the paint that would catch the light.  Every Christmas we had life size wood cutouts of Santa and snowmen.  It was magical to me although I still didn't appreciate art until I got much older - mostly because I can't draw a straight line.  Now I am enthralled by art that I love and enjoy.  The colors and design bring me joy that is uncompared and the great thing is that art is everywhere in our lives - we just have to open our eyes and take it in.

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Today I am so very Thankful for Diligence!  All of my life I have heard that if you do anything at all, do it with due diligence.  Dictionary.com defines it as constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.  For years I just could not get it - why...what does this mean.  Now looking back I realize that most of the good experiences in my life have involved Diligence!  Not always what I want to do but what I know that I must do.  Marriage, having babies, buying a house, keeping a job or getting one for that matter, all require an earnest amount of diligence.  I am not always an eager go getter and many times I give up because things just seem too hard - that is a quality I am not proud of and I am working hard to get away from that.  You could say that I am using diligence to learn to be diligent! 

Diligence is the mother of good luck.
Benjamin Franklin

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DinkyBaby.com

Today I am so very Thankful for Dolls!!  From my very first memories I have loved dolls.  I am not even sure why but I still do and I never fail to be amazed at how a sweet doll can bring such emotion to a child's face.  I was not one of those girlies who had a special doll that I took everywhere with me - I had a wall full.  Shelves with every size and kind of doll you can imagine. They were not expensive or fancy, they just had personality.   I collected them from every vacation, every holiday and more.  My collecting badge for girl scouts was for dolls.  I just wish I still had them.  I love making dolls and bringing them to life and I hope to be able to spend some time doing this again soon.  They are so full of life as you create them and the doll actually develops a personality as you complete it.  And.....dolls are not just for girls - my boys had GI Joe dolls and boy rag dolls and more.  A very dear friend attended a charity Dang It Doll  service project this weekend with her teenaged son and I was reminded once again how important dolls can be.  These are sent to military families and they are very much in demand.  Here is the little ditty that goes along with each Dang It Doll:

When your day is stressful
And you want to scream and shout,
Here’s a little “DANG-IT DOLL”
That you can’t live without.
Grasp it firmly by it’s legs 
And find a place to bang it
And as you whack it’s stuffing out
Yell, “DANG-IT, DANG-IT, DANG-IT”

Day 120 of Thanksgiving....

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Today I am so very Thankful for the Moon!  Everybody has been talking about the Super Moon this last couple of weeks and last night it was to be at it's peak.  We had storms here and I wasn't able to see it but there are lots of pictures online - absolutely gorgeous!!  I am so amazed by this magical sphere and it's ability to bring out the romantic and dreamy side in all of us!  When ever there is a full moon, we can see it light up our backyard like a million far away lights - what a sight.  When I was little, I believed that the moon was full of cheese and then I was lured in by tales of the man in the moon.  Then during my lifetime, there actually were men on the moon.  Daddy was in such awe of the space program and if there was even a minute of coverage on television, we were glued to it.  The super Moon this week has helped us remember this luminous globe and be appreciative for all it offers us far and wide.

Day 119 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Exhaustion!  As usual that sounds sort of looney but if you have ever been at a place in your life when you could do so little that you were never exhausted in a good way, then you will understand.  I used to so love being able to cut the grass at our old house, hose everything off and come in a get a shower.  What a wonderful feeling - exhausted and looking at our finely little coiffed yard and feeling that sense of accomplishment.  Cleaning the whole house on a Saturday and then sitting down to enjoy the view - now that is good exhaustion.  Spending the day at a cub scout event or day at school with one of the boy's field day activities was glorious. Also the exhilaration of working hard on a job and accomplishing it is so worth it. While I can't do nearly as much now, there is still joy in good exhaustion that was provoked by glorious activity that produces something wonderful - a sense of accomplishment and joy from doing something for your friends and family.

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Today I am so very Thankful for Celebrations!  We lived in a teeny tiny house for many years and we still have a not so big one now.....but that has never stopped us from enjoying a good celebration.  Graduations, birthdays, retirements, jobs, promotions.....just give us a reason and we will celebrate.  I have found that when you have very little that is the best time to seriously enjoy celebrating anything that comes along.  This is a wonderful way to bring family and friends together and share our lives and love for each other.  This year we seem to have more than the normal amount of occasions and we are making the most of each and every one of them.  As someone much smarter than me once said - life is in the small things.  Enjoy them all big and small and celebrate!

Day 117 of Thanksgiving......

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Today I am so very Thankful for Acting!  Anyone who know me knows that I have a very hard time hiding my feelings and problems flash across my face like a neon sign.  I don't like that and I so have always wanted to have the luxury of having a poker face.  Not so easy for me.  But, I have found that sometimes when things are difficult, if I act out how I want to feel or model a behavior, then it becomes easier to be what I want to be.  Now I am absolutely not talking about being fake!!  I am talking about acting happy or at least not melancholy and the happiness will follow.  They say it takes about 21 days to adopt a new behavior and for me sometimes much longer.  Negativity has been one of the erks that I have tried so hard to loose and acting out being positive has helped me to do this.  As the invincibly positive Norman Vincent Peale used to say "by deliberately acting counter to what you now are, you can develop into what you want to be!" 

Day 116 of Thanksgiving.....

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Today I am so very Thankful for Scars!  Now I am not talking about physical scars although they are interesting as well.  I am talking about mental and emotional scars that we all develop over the years, some so many more than others.  The scars you earn through an emotional job loss, a divorce, a failed relationship, hurts hurled by others - the causes are endless and they can be profound.  I have learned over time that if I use these scars to my advantage they can make me stronger and like the balm you use on physical scars, they become less noticeable and less painful as well. If I don't put a bandage on and move on there is much to gain. I have found that examining these types of wounds and finding and realizing what I can learn from them, will make all of the difference in their eventual healing.  But.....I don't want to completely erase them because they are reminders that we can learn and grow from life's pain - we can find the good and the lesson in all we experience.