Giving Thanks

I've been remiss in joining the month-long daily devotions, so to speak on Facebook.  Facebook friends have been noting on each day of November another reason to be thankful.  

I haven't participated cuz I don't know where the instructions are, just like I don't know where people find the recipes of mouth-watering dishes that they post or the inspirational posters with wise sayings or even the often nasty stuff aimed at politicians they hate. 

There must be a central office somewhere on Facebook that has all that stuff available for the choosing or that directs folks on a theme to follow.  If it's there, I haven't found it or looked for it, for that matter.

Thinking up what we're thankful for on a daily basis is a great discipline, and I'm betting we could post such thoughts 365 days a year, probably even several times a day.  

Since I have a blog and since it's the week we officially give thanks AND since I've recently seen some lovely expressions of gratitude on Facebook, today will be devoted to just that topic. 

Seems like so much flashes through our lives each day for which we are thankful, but life also moves fast and the time necessary for such contemplation gets filled with another "to do" much too quickly.  

Plus, gratitude is often a feeling within, where our senses know it but we can't quite find the words to express our thoughts for every moment when we are the recipients of good tidings, of random thoughtfulness or just plain enjoyment of the world around us. 

Each gesture and each moment of joy is supreme to me whenever it happens.  There are times I just can't believe how wonderful or how thoughtful other people can be or how lucky I am to lead the life I so enjoy.  

And, there are times when I simply take in the beauty of the world around me and want to jump for joy, expressing the depth of my appreciation. Often my camera helps out.

I truly love my friends----all of them---for their individuality, for their contributions to this world, for the fun and the entertainment they bring to my life, for their generosity or even for their wildly humorous cantankerous ways. 

I was talking to one of my friends the  other day at the check-out stand at Yoke's.  She and I both love to complain, generally in a light-hearted way.  

This particular conversation, which drew in the checker and the rest of the folks behind us,  involved preparations for Thanksgiving---or the lack thereof in her case AND her obvious resentment toward me for suggesting that I was actually feeling a bit organized for a change. 

Our give-and-take was a hoot from start to finish, and when she left the store, I announced to everyone how much I love to banter with her.  For her, I am thankful.

Yesterday, when I wrote the post about the plate problem, another friend sent me a note and asked if I knew about those plates from Safeway a few years back, which I'm sure are lot like those plates from Yoke's.

Ya know the kind:  buy so many groceries, then go pick out a plate.

Well, she had a collection of them, and she offered them to me.  I thanked her kindly and told her to give them to someone who needs them more than I do and then thanked her for being the caring, thoughtful person she is. For her, I am thankful.

As a related update, my sisters----who had NOT read yesterday's blog posting----showed up at my house last night with a pile of plates, enough for the Thanksgiving dinner turn-out here at the Lovestead. 

Ya know, those Yoke's plates, where ya buy so many groceries and you go pick out a plate.  Seems my mother bought a LOT of groceries cuz she collected a whole lot more Yoke's plates than I did. 

"They're yours," my sister Barbara said.  For that I am thankful.  

I am thankful for my family, all of them, and I am extremely thankful for the traditions our parents instilled in us, those that give us the message that we must carry on, that it is our responsibility and our ultimate joy to maintain the family unit, as examples for the generation of family members that follows us. 

From what my sisters told me last night, the upcoming holidays are programmed to do just that.  Surely, Mother and Harold will be proud if we can pull that off as well as they did. We'll do our best. 

Every day I am thankful for my own immediate family and so proud of each of them for what they do in this community and within the geocaching community.  It's a "pinch yourself" sort of thing, to often hear how loved and respected they all are.  For that, I am thankful.

This morning when I saw the photo of my daughter Annie, wearing a peasant scarf at a dress-up affair, I chuckled out loud.  Love the fun that girl has with all her friends.   For all that I am thankful. 

When I take my darling little Foster (he'll be 2 in a couple of days) next door to the Meserve Preserve to visit with Stan and Geneva, I'm overcome with the joy he brings to their day and with the good feelings of each visit with them.   All my nearby neighbors strike me that way.  

It's a joy to see them and to catch up with their lives and to know they're there to rub bellies, give me a call or load up pups when the black-and-white four-legged urchins decide to sneak off from the Lovestead.   

It's a joy to hear Gary Finney honk every time he passes our house . . . every time! And, to visit with Colleen or Joan when they come running or walking past our house.  For good neighbors, I am thankful.  

The weather of late has made me very thankful.  We've been given some extra time to thoroughly prepare our outdoor surroundings for winter snows, which will mean a lot less work in the spring.  The weather of late has been beautiful and pleasant.  No barn boots, no mud, no snow to move but definitely a pleasant existence for our animals.  For that I am very thankful. 

It is time to draw this to a close, and I'm far from noting every single reason for gratitude, but I can assure you that it's alive and kicking.  

Gratitude is definitely one of the more positive emotions we can experience in life, and I'm thinking it will never go out of style.   So, I'll save the rest for another day.

Happy Monday, and thank you following this blog.  For that, too, I am thankful. 

Oh, one last thing.  I am very thankful for the ZAGS and their associates and all they do to bring joy to our lives. They have some tough competition at their Maui Tournament, where today's tip-off is at 9 p.m.  GO ZAGS!!