Giving Thanks
It is Thanksgiving Day in the USA today.  The turkey is roasting, pies are baked, the cream is whipped, the gelatin dessert is cooling in the refrigerator.  In a little while the second flurry of preparation will begin.  I will have eleven here for dinner today, and the table will be full! I'm looking forward to all the good company, good food, and hugs from my grandchildren. 

This is a time to remember and give thanks for the blessings of the previous year, although I do try very hard to do that every day.  This year I am thinking much of my sister, who left us in 2010, the two dear friends I lost in the spring of this year, my mother and my husband's parents, gone so many years now.  I remember the family and friends who are far away, and the ones who are near.  I remember the sunny days of my childhood, and many, many happy times over the past fifty-five years.  It's a good thing to stop and make a special effort to do this, as we so often lose track of those we love, in our busy lives and day-to-day worries.

I am thankful for all of the wonderful people who have graced my life and for all the special and also the ordinary places I've seen.  I'm thankful for good health, strong hands, hugs and kisses, sunshine and snowfall, all the creatures of this earth (well, maybe not so grateful for spiders, but I suppose they have their place, too), for the flowers and the trees and the grasses, for lakes and rivers and especially for the little stream that cuts through my back yard.  I am so very thankful to be alive and well and able to prepare a feast for some of the people that I love.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!