Heart of Thankfulness

Another November, I enjoy listing my thanks each year on my blogs because it centers me.  A time of reflection that comes during one of the busiest seasons of the year, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  So this year I offer thirty, one for each day of the month, reasons my heart is filled with thanks:

v Exceptionally thankful for our new home

v Travel safety provided over numerous road trips

v Memories of two years of life in a retirement oasis

v A treasured visit with my sister-in-law, Mary Lou

v Recorded memories shared by my Aunt Betty, ninety-two years young

v A new maltipoo puppy, Muffin

v Searching our roots with my granddaughter, Sydney

v Autumn beauty

v For direction from the Word of God

v  To have spent time on this earth with a humble stepfather, Tom, who loved my Mother deeply

v Our nimble and talented granddaughter, Haley, has the opportunity to cheerlead and support her school

v Delicious pumpkin-pie cake

v God’s patience with me

v Witnessing my Mother’s amazing endurance through illness and loss of her beloved husband

v Sharing a weekend with my brother and sisters, laughing, remembering and crying together…

v An impromptu tea party with Megan and Ashley, two of my ‘Princess’ granddaughters

v So grateful to stay in the home of Aunt Gail and Uncle Palmer during a difficult family funeral

v Friendships that have stood the test of time

v Warm, friendly neighborhood

v Turkey and my Mom’s stuffing recipe

v Freedom to vote in a Presidential election

v Soul-mate, friend and love of my life, my husband, Joseph

v Warmth of our wood-burning stove

v A day of remembering at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

v Forty-two years of marriage and counting…

v The speedy sale of our previous home

v ‘Coffee times’ with my sister, Nancy

v Recently acquired photograph of my deceased mother-in-law and father-in-law taken almost seventy years ago

v Blueberry French Toast and orange juice

v Listening to Stardust and Moonlight Serenade

My 2011 Thanksgivings
November My Thanksgivings

Precious Times

‘Busyness’ would be a great word to describe 2012 for me.  Many road trips, buying and selling our home, grieving through the loss of my Mom’s dear husband and my beloved sister-in-law, finding a new church home, and we just got a maltipoo pup this week. 

Last week, though, was a totally precious time.  Our family celebrated my Mother’s 85^th birthday.   My siblings and spouses came from three different states.  My three children and their families, blessed with fourteen of my mom’s great-grandchildren, shared cake and memories with all.

Admiringly watching my Mother, I am reminded that this is what life is all about.  What a blessing to share our time with a woman who has lived so many years of life.  Her mind and heart are informed by days and years of living.  All the experiences she enjoyed or struggled through have brought her to today.  As I witness her smile and appreciation for her family, I’m confident the value she places on each person and each moment in time, flows from her awareness of just how precious life is.  

Lessons via Lineage

Drafting the Declaration of Independence by Jean Leon Ferris   History.com

Being born in this nation is surely a gift.  Studying lineage of my husband’s family this week reminded me that the younger generations are sometimes unaware of the trials of our ancestors.  After all most of us are in this country because our folks migrated from Europe and other lands.  Some were finally free from their indentured-servant status.  Others were searching for religious freedom.  Reasons for their decision to cross the sea were varied, but they all were filled with hope for a new beginning.  I think the majority of people arriving on the shores of our great country were poor.  So many were ill from the long, unpredictable ocean voyage.  Family members often died on ship during the trip, grief interrupting  their dream.  Upon arrival the search began for work and land.

We have grown accustomed to the comforts and freedoms our republic has extended.  It is easy to overlook the physical and emotional wars fought by our founders as they forged the constitutional path.  The wars fought on our land cost dear lives.  And today, our brave men and women wear our military uniforms to protect the homeland and set examples for other nations as they walk their foreign ground.

I don’t want to take for granted those who - loved, struggled, built, cried, served and died - before me.  After all, their DNA, genetics and footprints are a part of me.  I wish I could give them my thanks.  One thing I can do is to appreciate their stories, always remembering their contribution and personal struggles.  I must not forget!   

Appreciation Expanded

My Husband's Maternal Grandparent's Home

Our home changed this week, not in appearance, but in appreciation.  My husband lost his sister a week ago.  This is the third sibling he has lost in the short period of six years.  If his family was ten or fifteen years older, the losses would be somewhat expected.  But since each sister or brother passed away mid-life, we find ourselves feeling such loss.

One positive aspect of loss and mourning is a reminder to enjoy each day and moment in our lives.  Our harbor of safety, the home we establish as a family of loving and caring people, is an environment intentionally offering opportunities to share feelings and comfort.  I try to promote that comfort and ambiance of grace through acceptance of emotional upheaval, with an atmosphere of beauty and serenity.

For example, the order and consistency of provision by way of meals and laundry help by not contributing to unwanted change.  Taking that extra moment to use that pretty place mat at dinner and lighting the candles, somehow soothes the hurting heart while talking at the dinner table.  The mood created promotes meaningful conversation.

Loss of loved ones automatically stirs a desire to treasure each day and each family member.  And here we are in our refuge – our home.     

Now Where?



View on My Deck



Unpacking for two weeks, it seems like it has been forever.  How can forty-two years of marriage produce so much ‘stuff’!  Where oh where do I put my serving dishes, plant containers, platters, on and on and on!  It is fun but the laughs don’t go on forever.  I’m ready to be finished.

Thankfully, sitting on my deck is medicinal.  I absolutely love listening to the sweet, melodic songs of the birds.  I enjoy watching the squirrels  frolicking , chasing each other from one branch to another.  Wish I could leap through the air like they do.  Mother doe and her fawn walk so gracefully, what a sight!  Yes, I’ve decided, I most definitely love my new home!

Favorite Places Are a Good Thing

If you could spend an hour or two today in one of your favorite places where would you be?  It is amazing how invigorating and refreshing it is to my mindset, even my health, when I spend time at my current favorite place.

My present little paradise is the dock at Sumter Landing, Florida.  My list of reasons for wanting to sit there is long.  I love the water, breeze, birds, turtles, fish and even the alligators.  Overall it is just so beautiful!  I will miss my walks on the dock when I leave the area in a week for a new home.  But I know myself very well.   My eyes, ears and even my heart, will spy out the land in my new city.  There is another favorite place waiting to make its contribution to my life. “Is that a doe and her fawn I see over there?”

Moving.....Family.....Memories

Part B

loved ones

memories

forever precious