Counting one's blessings...

One of the things I learned from my mother was to count my blessings. Odd that we have a national holiday set aside to do that. Shouldn't that be a part of our daily lives?

Our society is so focused on the quest to obtain "more," that we forget to give thanks for what we already have.

I'd like to be a beautiful woman: long curly hair, blue-violet eyes, slender figure, long shapely legs. But folks, it ain't happenin'.  I will share with you that having had my hair go scalp-seeing thin a couple years ago thanks to the removal of my thyroid, I'm thankful for the hair I now have. My brown eyes can see the beauty of my family and friends just fine, even with those early cataracts. To see the people one cherishes is a great blessing, to say nothing of looking at the sky, the mountains, flowers and artwork. I'm even thankful for my cottage cheese thighs because I'm still able to walk wherever I want; I'm not using a walker or confined to a wheelchair.

Every morning when Calvin turns on that same opera CD, I take pause and think how grateful I am I can still hear it. Life without classical music and Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan or Aretha Franklin would be a cold, silent vacuum.

What I'm slowly getting at here is sometimes we get so caught up in our wants and desires, we forget to count the many blessings we already have. Yes, one needs ambitions; one also needs to take stock. Take stock of ALL you have.

At our ages (I'm 62 and Cal is 79), we're very grateful for our good health and that we are active. We count our children (Amy, Steve, Mike and Kelly) as our greatest achievements. Raising them was a joy for both of us; they've given us great memories. Our six grandchildren (mine actually, but they've wormed their way into Cal's heart, as well) are a delight. We celebrate every achievement they have--both academic and sports-related. We also cherish our ever-increasing circle of friends. Lucky us to have met such interesting people!

We've both been blessed with a deep-seated desire to write. As a result of our passion, we both have book contracts. Words cannot express our gratitude for these gifts.

God has blessed us with so many things, large and small--the most-appreciated gift being each other. After living alone for so many years, residing in different states, it was God's hand that brought us together. And isn't it a blessing that we live in a country where we can chose to worship any way our spirit leads?

At times, one has to feel content with his or her surroundings. No, we don't live in a large McMansion. We love our little cottage; it's filled with love, after all. No, we don't drive a Lexus; our Camry has a smooth ride and it's paid for. No, we aren't young and beautiful, or slim and shapely. We are us, comfortable in our wrinkled skin, happy we can still learn something new every day, thrilled with our family's accomplishments, awed that our dreams are coming true and thankful--extremely thankful for all we have.

Happy Thanksgiving!