My Cup Overfloweth

'Green Girl' by delayne

It's Thanksgiving Day. And I've said this before but I'm saying it again. Today (and every day) I'm so thankful for:
 
Twenty-four whole hours. I must remember to spend them responsibly and not take them for granted.
 
Good health, strong limbs, decent mental faculties, and some experience under my belt. I like the age I am! And fifty-eight years are more than many are blessed with.

My imagination and my curiosity. It's always interesting in here! And I am never bored....

A house that shelters me, warms me, cocoons me, welcomes me, and is so full of character that it has its own name.

A guy in my life who defies description. I could write all day about why I'm so thankful for him and my list wouldn't be finished.

My girls all grown-up and uber-responsible, with good men in their lives and children that are dipped in GOLD. (SO thankful to be a gramma!)

Grandbugs that make my world go 'round and my socks go up and down. 

A family that is healthy, happy, and independent, one that can hold each other close and yet let go....

Friends who put up with the stupid stuff I do and still manage to like me. 

Pets past, present, and future. I can't live without creatures in my life. I just can't....

All the wonderful books I've read, music I've heard, and art I've seen that opened my mind and made me think, moved me, or just plain entertained me, and the gifted folks who created them.

Our veterans and active-duty servicemen/women, and others who risk their lives or sacrifice themselves for our health, well-being, safety, or freedom.

The living things that have to die so I can live.

A generous Earth. I give her a seed and she thanks me with a harvest.

A Higher Power that doesn't seem mind that the two of us commune together over a sunrise or under the stars instead of in a church. I even suspect S/He prefers it that way.

And you. Reading this. So dang thankful for YOU. :)
...

Sending You Holiday Wishes

Holiday Musings

It's Thanksgiving Eve. 

The holiday is just moments away, and I haven't cleaned house or made pies or thawed a turkey. I won't be doing the cooking. In all my years I've only hosted the day's get-together once that I can remember. And it was epic. There was premature labor involved.

Instead, this year I'll be traveling north to my parents' house as usual, where my family and I will pass the potatoes and the green bean hotdish and get our fart jokes in a row. (I have brothers. It's what we do.)

Last year's drive to Mom and Dad's was full of memories. I can recall the rows of corn still standing out in the fields and the deer navigating between them, the November world smelling of sleep and snow, and my head full of the recollections of childhood.

Thanksgiving begins the Nostalgia Season for me. I consider the years that have passed and the years I have left. This year will be no different.  

I'll look around the table at my brothers and their loved ones. I'll think of my Girlz busy with celebrations of their own, and the children that they're making fond memories for. I'll see my aged parents together and happy. And my heart will hurt with gratefulness for all that I have and all that surrounds me. Still surrounds me. And I'll say a silent prayer for more years together. Please.

Then just before my heart shatters completely, someone at the table will make the first fart reference and we'll be off in shrieks of laughter so loud that my nephew will cover his ears. 

Fart jokes to the rescue. I'm thankful for them, too. :)
...
 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Thankfulness

This looks Christmassy to me....

Just last week I was standing at the counter in a local McDonalds and noticed that Christmas-inspired McFlurries were now being offered and advertised, and I had a mini fit.

I get that the Christmas buck is the biggest, but please can't we take the year one holiday at a time? I thought to myself, "Hey! There's a Hallowe'en to enjoy first, and don't forget Thanksgiving."

Poor Thanksgiving....

Because of that moment at McDonalds I've since decided that Thanksgiving needs its due. And to honor it proper I've made the commitment to create a daily list of things I'm thankful for. Every day from now through the month of November.

(And before you begin thinking that this might suck for you as a Not-So-Daily Maily reader, please know that I've got so much on my plate right now that posting here every day will be difficult, so I will be keeping the bulk of my list to myself. However, I urge you to make one with me, and I would love it if you shared your daily entries!)

So here it is -- November Oneth. And today I'm feeling thankful for:

• Leftover Hallowe'en candy.
• Hot water and a deep bathtub.
• Squash soup for supper.
• A mood that can almost see a pinpoint of light at the end of its dark tunnel.
• YOU.

:)
...

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is tomorrow already; can you believe it?? My month of November -- which looks in my head like one long leisurely span of time in which to cocoon and be creative (ha!) -- is almost over, and the holiday crazies are waiting in the wings, tapping their feet.

So before the hours get any crazier for me (and you!), I'd like to honor the holiday by taking this opportunity to list some stuff for which I'm thankful:

1. Twenty-four whole hours in a day. I must remember to never take them for granted.

2. Good health, strong limbs, decent mental faculties, and some experience under my belt. I like the age I am! And fifty-five years are more than many are blessed with.

3. A guy in my life who defies description. I could write all day about why I'm so thankful for him and my list wouldn't be finished.

4. My girls all grown-up and uber-responsible, with good men in their lives and children arriving.

5. A family that is healthy, happy, and independent, one that can hold each other close and yet let go....

6. Friends who love me unconditionally, who willingly put up with my nonsense and still like me when I don't like my own self.

7. Pets past, present, and future. I can't live without animals in my life. I just can't.

8. All the wonderful books I've read, music I've heard, and art I've seen that opened my mind and made me think, moved me, or just plain entertained me, and the gifted folks who created them.

9. Our veterans and active duty servicemen/women. 'Nuff sed.

10. A generous Earth. I give her a seed and she thanks me with a harvest.

11. A Higher Power that doesn't mind that the two of us commune together over a sunrise or under the stars instead of in a church. In fact, S/He prefers it that way.

And, of course,

13. YOU.

Have the best of holidays, OK? And give yourself a big warm hug for me. I am truly thankful that you're here, my friend.

:)

...delayne.