I'm Thankful For....

It's the time of year, when, if you have a Grandfather, you should go over the river and through the woods, to see him. And Grammy too :-)

It's also the time of year to think of what one is thankful for. Jot it down somewhere, and date it for posterity's sake.

Here's what's coming to mind for me this year:

I'm thankful for:

Cub Sweetheart - my husband of almost 38 years. When we got married I truly thought, somehow, that we wouldn't be married decades. That was back when I was in my 20's and ignorant, naive as to one's possible lifespan I guess? Now we talk about what it's going to be like to be married and still going out to the movies together in our 90's. He's a pretty cautious type but for some crazy reason he took a huge chance with me, and here we are. I'm thankful beyond expression that he came into my life, and stayed there in spite of it all.

Our kids. I know you think yours are great, but mine are better. Probably nicer looking too if we're honest. And what kind of mother would I be if I didn't think so? I do realize they're not perfect but they are all pretty darned terrific. And they gave me eight grandkids, who are pretty high on my list too. They were, all three of them, a bit of a pain to raise, but they grew up to be my three favorite people on the planet (after Cub Sweetheart); we're best friends and I'm oh so thankful for that. I wish, when I was in the thick of it all back then, that I could have seen the day ahead when we could discuss politics (the only people I do this with BTW), or talk about how hard it is to raise kids ( you think?!) or how much earlier you begin to age than you had previously realized. It would have made the raising of them easier, I think, if I'd known these relationships were at the end of the 20 year marathon we ran with each of them.

My father, 93 years old, still drives, plays dominoes twice a week and turns out canned beets like nobody's business. His checkbook stays balanced to the penny, he sends every single grandchild and great-grandchild a check for their birthday and at Christmas. He's tucked away in a little town on the border of Kansas, so he's out of sight for most of them, but not out of mind.

My little dog. For years I didn't realize I don't actually enjoy dogs (or babies for that matter) much, until I had this one, who is much more like a cat. She knows I'm her Alpha, but prefers my husband. I'll take what I can get - her leftover crumbs of affection more than fill my cup. And she makes me laugh every single day. Everyone should have someone they can say that about, even if it has four legs instead of two.

My faith. My mother took us to just about every kind of church there was, and don't even ask how many times I've been baptized. Somehow through it all I figured out faith in my mid-twenties, and that, added to meeting my husband, changed the entire trajectory of my life. When I stop and consider that Jesus saved me, mostly from myself, and let my mind run to where I might have ended up without Him, I am beyond thankful.

I'm also thankful for:

whoever invented the microwave
flavored creamer
programmable coffeepots
yoga pants
indoor plumbing and hot water
the first shepherd taking a ball of string and sticks and coming up with knitting
the dictionary on my phone
Audible so I can listen to books and hear all the words I mispronounce
underwire bras
my chiropractor
baseball, the only sport I understand
football, which I don't really understand but keeps men busy all fall so we can knit for hours
whoever invented the gps so I arrive where I started out going in the first place
PBS for making movies of all the books too long for me to actually read
Ben Franklin for coming up with the idea of the library
toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss so I didn't end up toothless
my clothes dryer
high thread count sheets
wildlife, except grizzlies and cougars and white sharks

*We've set a tradition, here in northern Idaho, to host Thanksgiving for all the family that lives nearby. We'll spend Christmas with the rest of our family, down in Texas, once we get back there. We take a 'love the ones you're with' approach to family that is separated by 2000 miles.