- for a husband that loves me, and whom I'm still giddy about eighteen years after our first meeting, and after sixteen years of marriage
- for my first marriage - it provided me with contrast, insight, memories, and six beautiful children
- for parents who were brilliant together - until the day his Alzheimer's completely erased his memory of even being married, my father got all misty-eyed when he talked about my mother. Theirs was a fairy-tale kind of love...
- for my childhood - idyllic, secure, creative, open-ended. My parents encouraged us to be who we really were and pursue every avenue of learning that interested us, and guided without making us feel "less" because we had missed the mark or done something not in line with what they'd taught us. Self esteem and creativity were huge in the home I grew up in.
- for my children. They are constantly teaching me and making me re-think what I think I know. They are all amazing individuals - so similar and so vastly different from each other - and I feel truly blessed to know them.
- for my grandchildren. Ditto on what I said about their parents...
- for my siblings and their significant others and their offspring - what a varied and wonderful group of interesting, heart-warming folk my family is!
- for my friends. I tend to keep myself to myself and, as a result, I have more acquaintances than actual friends, but the handful that I have are a HUGE blessing to me!
- for clothes to wear and food to eat and a roof over my head and a car to drive and a million, billion creature comforts that I enjoy and usually take for granted
- for technology that allows me to learn things that were previously unavailable to me. There is simply not enough time to go to all the classes I would need to attend or read all the books I would need to read to answer the questions that pique my interest from time to time. I can look it up somewhere on the Internet and move on...
- for the same technology that allows me to do what I'm doing right now - share ideas with others that I may or may not ever meet. The blogs I go to daily and the emails and the Facebook (which I'm not on yet - maybe soon) and all are incredible tools to connect us with each other, and my life is enriched because of it.
- for Odd Brain. I enjoy the twists and turns and oddities, and am grateful again for parents who allowed me that freedom and didn't try to discourage my oddness or get me to 'conform'. One result is that I will try pretty much anything that interests me without fear - I'll either succeed brilliantly, learn what to do different the next time, or realize that perhaps my interests will be better served elsewhere. Each result is equally valid, so what's to fear? Thanks, AJ and JG...
There is more - so much more - but you get the idea... Have a very blessed and peaceful and happy Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for you, too!
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