GIVING THANKS

It’s not that I don’t have plenty to be thankful for, I guess it just becomes more apparent this time of year.  

I found myself complaining (hopefully to myself and not others) I never felt like I got my fill of summer.

Having grown up in Southern California, I always loved the heat.  Even though I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for the past 22 years, it seems like there were always distinct seasons... until this year.  

Sure, there were a couple of days in the 80s, but my measurement of what kind of summer I’ve had comes in the form of how many times I’ve watered the lawn and my rose garden, and whether or not I’ve turned on the fan/air conditioning system we have.  

Sadly, not only have I not watered the lawn at all, nor have I turned on any fans, I just noticed today that the Styrofoam protector to keep the pipes from freezing is still on one of the faucets from last year!  And the only reason I watered my rose garden once or twice was to soften the soil so I could weed the beds.

I started thinking... how is it that I can feel so young and so vibrant, but I have outlived all of my relatives except for my children and a couple of nieces?  Does that make me the matriarch now?  Gulp!

Then I remembered that my oldest son and his wife will be having their first child in April.  My other son lives a few miles from me so we can visit often.  And my daughter is getting married next June.  I have a second daughter and will soon have a third son.  I will be a grandma for the very first time.  I already have a wonderful mother-in-law buddy because of my son’s wife, as well as her sister and a son and daughter.  And now I’ll be getting two more in-law buddies next June.

And I am blessed to have the most wonderful man in my life.  He is my best friend, my mentor, my sweetheart.  He shared his incredible mom with me soon after we started dating.  Add to that a brother and his wife and family, and a sister and her husband and family.  And the icing on the cake are his two wonderful daughters.  One has a great husband, two little boys and a baby boy.  The other has a very special man in her life.

You see, sometimes we take for granted those things that should be so obvious.  I don’t care if it isn’t hot and sunny all the time; I really don’t care if it rains most of the time.  Well, I try not to care about the rain... but living here and enjoying the lush greenery year-round and the wildlife certainly makes it all worthwhile.

What a perfect day to think remember how blessed I am and truly be thankful for what I have.

I hope you take the time today to count your blessings as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!