Thanksgiving is a great concept. Taking time to express thanks, to reflect, to realize all that we have is a wonderful exercise.
I hope all of you have made wonderful memories with those close to you.
We've had a lovely thanksgiving weekend. We had the privilege of picking up our niece from the airport on Thursday, and we met her fiance. They spent a night at Flatlanders, and the kids got to miss some school time while we had a bit of a leisurely breakfast with them the next day. We hosted lots of family and friends at Flatlanders on Friday and Saturday. We even had a time of creativity for the Flatlanders community.. some evidence of our efforts might follow once everything is hung and ready to be photographed.
We took a new friend named Ray to lunch today, and the kids were thrilled that he wanted KFC... a rare treat! His thanksgiving memories from childhood aren't great... but he was inspiring as he talked about the things he is thankful for in his humble day to day life.
Tonight, we celebrated thanksgiving and my Pepere's 95th birthday. 
This photo of him with Owen was taken this summer. Owen shares a name and almost a birthday with him. (they're 2 days and 81 years apart!)
This photo of him with Owen was taken this summer. Owen shares a name and almost a birthday with him. (they're 2 days and 81 years apart!)85 people crowded in to a restaurant in St. James to wish him well and recall wonderful memories. He has lived a wonderful, simple life of love and commitment to family. A journal was passed around where we could all record stories and messages for him.
I wrote about remembering him as a vegetable farmer... I remember walking in the field closest to his house - the one where he and memere raised their 11 kids - checking the progress of the potato plants. I remember him picking baby potatoes out of the dirt and passing them to me... and I ate them. Just like that, dirt still on. Aren't those the best memories ... the ones that engage our senses?
Thankfulness. Family. Loved ones. Relationship. Memories. Goodness. Laughter. Friendships. Rhythm. There are so many glimpses of beauty in every day.
I love the final line of this post; it's so true. Sometimes we miss the blessings we have 'cause we're focused on the world around us. I hope that I'll always be able to stop, look around, and appreciate the blessings I already have. Thanks for such a wonderful, thought-provoking post. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe are thankful for you guys!
ReplyDeleteHere's my thankful moment from today....watching glee club youtube videos with Josh and sharing headphones, and then he snuggled over on the bed and fell asleep so quietly right here beside me. He is face down in the pillow and snoring very cutely. (And Maddie learned to use the vaccuum cleaner this weekend, and loved it!) :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great visit.
LB