Shift the Focus–Thanksgiving

I was laying here thinking about Thanksgiving as it is fast approaching and Thanksgivings past. No, no ghosts showed up but I got to thinking about what Thanksgiving meant to the first pilgrims and how much it has changed. Now, Thanksgiving represents the holidays and the BIG sales and cooking more food than an army needs and family fights and traveling to family events. It is a time of overeating, football, running to sales and spending money and self-indulgence.

I remember all the family around the huge dining room table and as we grew the kids were sent to another table. Then all the men folks went to watch the football game while the women cleaned up and put away left overs. The buffet had so many foods that if you took one bite of everything, your plate was full. We had Turkey, dressing, gravy, potato casserole, green bean casserole, fruit salad, rolls and other dishes and then there were all the different pies and cakes for dessert.

And for many, the holiday is about the black Friday sales and getting up at the crack of dawn and rushing from store to store to get all the “bargains” and spend, spend, spend.

And so, I was thinking about what this day meant to our ancestors. It was being thankful they were alive…that they survived and that they had just a small amount of food and a place to live. When did we change to all the extravagance and over indulgence?  When did we lose sight of what it really means.

This year I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for my home. It might be a small cottage but it is so filled with love and joy and comfort. I am thankful for my son who takes care of me and my other son back east and his family and Sweetpea. I am thankful for my Jack. I am thankful for Mama and family/friends like Sassy and BOS, who love me so much and who support me and care about me. I am thankful for finally getting moved on this side of the mountain. I am thankful for the wonderful doctors I now have and all the care they are giving me. I am thankful I am still alive with all my health issues and I am thankful that some big issues will be taken care of. I am thankful we made it another year. I am thankful for my faith and the simplicity of my life.

We plan on cooking a small hen, dressing, green beans and a pumpkin pie and sharing it together. Son will be the chef and I get to enjoy. Nothing extravagant but being together. Son loves for the cooking to be done on Thanksgiving Day, especially the pumpkin pie and that will be my job. He loves to smell the pie cooking. Just a small simple meal together and eating it on our pretty red dishes at our dining table. Our FIRST Thanksgiving in our new town and our new home.

We plan on getting up and turning on the parade and watching it while preparing the food and just enjoying each others company. Son put up Christmas lights and the tree for me so that I could enjoy before surgery, so we will have those on to fill our house with beautiful light. No plans for big sales. No plans to go shopping. Just being in our home together and enjoying each other’s company..calling Mama and loved ones to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and being thankful for all that the Lord has given us.

We have been so blessed in spite of the hard times we have gone through and the biggest blessing is we are in a home, warm, with enough food and happy. What more could we ask for?

To me, Thanksgiving is a time to say Thank You….thank you to our Creator for all He has done for us……. thank you to our loved ones for loving us……thank you to those who bring smiles to our faces…thank you to those who send notes of love and encouragement and care to us…thank you to special friends for sharing their lives with us…thank you to yourself for fighting hard to make it one more year….thank you to the Postal Server for braving all sorts of bad weather to bring us our mail, thank you to the Policemen and Deputies that protect us, thank you to the Firemen who risk their lives to save us and the EMT’s that rush to help us when injured or sick…thank you to the garbage men who haul our trash off…thank you to the radio stations for playing us that lovely music and the tv channels that entertain us…and thank you to the employer who hired us even when times were tough or stuck by us when times were tough and kept us on…and the list goes on.

THANKSGIVING

A Time of Giving THANKS

Dogs, Love and Wonderful Loved Ones

The past few days have been what I call pendulum days, waiting on the doctor to call to see if they got everything set up. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I decided to enjoy the things I DO have that are so good in my life….like my home, my baby Jack, my son and friends/family that are so good to me.

Who could not enjoy Jack. He is so funny. When Mama was here, she brought him this long flat dragon with all these squeaky toys in each little square. Well, yesterday, son and I noticed jack was on his bed in the living room with his scooby doo pillow  and he had this dragon draped across his face like he was blocking the light out. Cracked us up. Jack is funny. When he is cold, he wants his nose covered up. He loves to be covered totally but if he can’t manage that, he wants that nose covered.

And before you say it, yes he is rotten. Jack was rescued from a horrible situation. When they found him his poor paws were bloody and he was terrified. Come to find out it was college kids and they shot guns right up beside him because they thought it was funny to watch his terror. When we got him he was about to be put down. He was not people friendly and didn’t know what a toy was much less a doggie bed and to this day still can not stand to have his feet touched. So, we have had him eleven years and he has been pampered and loved. He has two boy boxes and is probably the only dog who has a bed in each room.

Jack is old and arthritic and so lays around a lot. He has his hut in my room and a bed in the living room, which is the one above and a cubbie down in son’s end of the house. This is his cubbie between son’s Bedroom and his den/office.

And of course in my room in his hut.

So, no matter where he wants to go, he has his soft bed to lay on. I have always loved dogs. They are such great entertainment and show such love back to us. They say people with pets live longer happier lives. In that case, I will live to be a hundred….deleriously happy. LOL

I had someone tell me once they would never own a dog for they died after a few years and it was just too painful. I thought to myself…you would miss the love an affection these great animals show you because you can’t stand the pain of them dying when they get old? With joy comes sorrow and it is the sorrow that makes the joy that much greater. I can’t imagine living my life afraid to love because I might hurt in the process. The joy far outweighs the pain.

So, I have spent the past few days just enjoying my baby and home and trying not to worry about the upcoming medical stuff. And enjoy him I have. He makes me laugh, he cuddles so sweet and fills our home with his personality.

And when I went to see about getting my hair cut, the shop across the street that I just put on the Around Town Blog, had the table we needed for sons room. And I was so tickled for they gave me two sets of twin sheets…BlueT shirt sheets…with stars, moons and suns all over them. What a sweet thing to do. She said it was for all I had done for her shop.

My bed is an ugly hospital bed that helps me sleep by allowing me to move the bed around when the pain is too bad. My room is my sanctuary of peace and comfort to help me through the rough times. Thanks to friends like Sassy, who sent me the beautiful fleece Indian blankets to brighten my room AND to bring comfort on those times when even touching my skin hurts, my room looks beautiful. And thanks to Sassy and BOS, I have wonderful chimes hanging all over my room and beautiful glowing lights and other treasures. And thanks to a son who wanted me to have Christmas early and decorated my room and the living room and to other friends who have sent me books and coffee and goodies  to lift me up……I am truly blessed.

And so, in spite of all the trials and tribulations, my life is filled with love and joy and wonderful caring people and a big ole dog named Jack that adores us.