“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it.”
~Mary Oliver~
As I prepare for my family's arrival tomorrow for Thanksgiving, I am reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. We can get lost in the chatter of everyday life but it is good to step back, especially on Thanksgiving Day and remember the important elements in our lives. When I was going through my photo's today...so many of them reminded me of all that is precious and priceless in my world and what I hold close to my heart...
I am so grateful for the gift of photography. It allows me to spend many hours in nature and I am fortunate to have so many woodland friends. No, I didn't find the owl and the pussycat but I did find the owl and the squirrel. Unfortunately Ms. Owl did not wake up to visit with either me or the cute little squirrel...
I'm so grateful for the flowers and sunlight that I come upon when I'm out for a walk with Gracie...and I'm very thankful that my knees are still working so I can get out and see my world.
What a gift it is to live in an area that brings such color and texture to the country roads in my hood. Most days I walk in amazement at the simple joy of this safe and comforting town.
On the days when life seems to turn me upside down and in and out, I am privileged to sit by the ocean and meditate on all the moments that add up to a complete and sweet life with Jim and my kids...A short time by the rolling sea sets me right again...rested and re-newed.
Then there is always the comforts of home..good food, warm house, light, laughter and love. Tomorrow we will celebrate all of those things that on a daily basis we let slip by..
Most of all I will give thanks for these two wonderful human beings. If I had only one gift that I could hold onto of all the things I have, they would be on the top of my list along with the rest of my immediate family. They bring such joy into our home. They make our world so bright. Tiny beings that share themselves with so much innocence. They teach me to believe.
Those are the personal gifts of home and hearth. Beyond that I am forever grateful for my brother and his wife. My wonderful sister-in-law, who even though my brother has passed, she still calls us family. I have one amazing Aunt...who has spent half her life lifting me up and the other half, just being my friend. The friends I have accumulated over the years bring magical moments to me. It's amazing, isn't it, when we really slow down and think in the quiet of our minds, the everyday small gifts we sometimes overlook in our busy lives. What would I ever do without my Gracie...and Riley and now Tucker. The world is not dark, when I open my heart to the goodness of my children, all four of them. Big and small. They are kind and interested in our lives...I love them for that.
So as you sit down tomorrow for your Thanksgiving dinner...take a tiny, quiet moment, and remember where all the goodness in your life comes from. I bet it's so much more than you remember on a daily basis. Open yourself up and hear the world around you speak your name in thanksgiving and then just smile. Everyone at the table will wonder...what you know that they don't. I send you gratitude from a very Grateful Heart.... Happy Thanksgiving to all who are encircled in my world.
