Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving
We had a lovely Thanksgiving with family at my in-laws house yesterday. It was so nice to get together, eat good food, chat with loved ones, watch Sam run and play, and see the family cuddling little Clay. You know, we don't often think about how amazing life is and what there is to be grateful for until such times as Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's something we should do everyday but often get to caught up in life to really sit and think about what we have to be grateful for in each day we live. For example, my mother in-law was telling me about a gal she knows on twitter who is living in a war zone and can't get even the simple thing of a Christmas card in the mail because of it. And yet she is so sweet and wishing every one of the people on her account a happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas. How amazing is that? Another gal that mom knows is in a different hemisphere and sent out Christmas cards to the people on her twitter. I got to see the card she sent and it's so cute.
For me, the other day I was in getting the treat of my typical pumpkin spice lattes and there was a bit of a line. A woman came up behind me and I didn't think to much of it when I heard her say "I love you bag." I was carrying my Doctor Who bad wolf bag. It's a favorite of mine. I knew then that she was a fellow Whovian (Doctor Who fanatic for those who don't know). We began to chat as the line was moving and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I finally got up to order and placed my order when she came up along side of me and asked if she could pay for my drink. I am not typically the type of person that lets others pay for my things but something told me I needed to do just that. A little shocked and very grateful I stepped aside for her to order. While we waited for our drinks we continued chatting about Doctor Who. Wishing her a Merry Christmas as I left I could see the twinkle in her eye. I'll never forget that or her for the kindness she did me that day. Here was a total stranger who took the time to say hello, give a compliment, and buy someone a drink for no other reason than she wanted to share her good day with someone else. That is something we all should do a little more. So, wherever you are my coffee stranger, may all your holidays be bright for the kindness you paid forward.
Another is my mother called me this afternoon having heard the amusing little messages I had left them all for Thanksgiving. In my family we always go around the table saying one thing we are thankful for before we start eating dinner and just after we pray. My father is not an emotional person in the least. Actually I'm pretty sure he barely knows what emotion is, which on one hand is amusing, and the other frustrating. After we had been talking for a few minutes my mom started telling me about how last night they were doing our tradition with all the family and the pastor and his family all there at the table. When it was my daddy's turn he began to tear up saying how proud he is of me and of Josh for starting our family, and setting goals, and meeting them. I hear my brother in the background saying "yeah he cried at the table." I don't hear that from my daddy much, but to know that he's proud and thankful for me enough to cry in front of a bunch of people means more to me than I can say. I'm tearing up just writing about it.
These are all things that show what we have to be thankful for each and every day. The simple things in life like being wished a Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas from people across the globe, having a stranger buy you a drink, and hearing how proud your family is of you. I could keep going with all the stories I could tell about things to be grateful for and the things to enjoy in life, but as my son is curled in my arms, and my daughter is curled in my husband's arms, I find that I want to simply enjoy that and be grateful that I have two beautiful children, a husband who loves me more than life itself, a family whose proud of me, and a wonderfully chaotic life to live.
So, to all of you across the globe large and small, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas all.
For me, the other day I was in getting the treat of my typical pumpkin spice lattes and there was a bit of a line. A woman came up behind me and I didn't think to much of it when I heard her say "I love you bag." I was carrying my Doctor Who bad wolf bag. It's a favorite of mine. I knew then that she was a fellow Whovian (Doctor Who fanatic for those who don't know). We began to chat as the line was moving and thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I finally got up to order and placed my order when she came up along side of me and asked if she could pay for my drink. I am not typically the type of person that lets others pay for my things but something told me I needed to do just that. A little shocked and very grateful I stepped aside for her to order. While we waited for our drinks we continued chatting about Doctor Who. Wishing her a Merry Christmas as I left I could see the twinkle in her eye. I'll never forget that or her for the kindness she did me that day. Here was a total stranger who took the time to say hello, give a compliment, and buy someone a drink for no other reason than she wanted to share her good day with someone else. That is something we all should do a little more. So, wherever you are my coffee stranger, may all your holidays be bright for the kindness you paid forward.
Another is my mother called me this afternoon having heard the amusing little messages I had left them all for Thanksgiving. In my family we always go around the table saying one thing we are thankful for before we start eating dinner and just after we pray. My father is not an emotional person in the least. Actually I'm pretty sure he barely knows what emotion is, which on one hand is amusing, and the other frustrating. After we had been talking for a few minutes my mom started telling me about how last night they were doing our tradition with all the family and the pastor and his family all there at the table. When it was my daddy's turn he began to tear up saying how proud he is of me and of Josh for starting our family, and setting goals, and meeting them. I hear my brother in the background saying "yeah he cried at the table." I don't hear that from my daddy much, but to know that he's proud and thankful for me enough to cry in front of a bunch of people means more to me than I can say. I'm tearing up just writing about it.
These are all things that show what we have to be thankful for each and every day. The simple things in life like being wished a Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas from people across the globe, having a stranger buy you a drink, and hearing how proud your family is of you. I could keep going with all the stories I could tell about things to be grateful for and the things to enjoy in life, but as my son is curled in my arms, and my daughter is curled in my husband's arms, I find that I want to simply enjoy that and be grateful that I have two beautiful children, a husband who loves me more than life itself, a family whose proud of me, and a wonderfully chaotic life to live.
So, to all of you across the globe large and small, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas all.
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