Thankful

Somedays we forget, 

To look around us.  

Somedays we can't see,  

The joy that surrounds us.  

So caught up inside ourselves,  

We take when we should give…  

Thirty days hath November. It’s soon to be Thanksgiving. Then shortly after that, it will be Christmas. The stores have had Christmas decorations out since October. It’s become a hurry up world.

The beginning of November is when it’s really fall to me. Then the leaves are gone. The wind blows and it’s winter. Not officially of course, but winter, never the less. November is the beginning of the holidays. It’s the time when family gets together. This is the month my dad was born. This is the month my dear cousin passed away. It’s a birthday month for some close friends. It’s a month of beginnings. It’s a month of endings. But mostly, when I think of November I think of it as the month for being thankful.

I feel sorry for myself sometimes and sometime even wish I was somewhere, someone, else. But I have a lot to bet thankful for. And I need to remember that. I’m thankful I have a family. Are they perfect? Not at all. But I have a good husband who loves me. As my ‘friends’ say, he must be a saint. Nobody else would put up with you! Saint, no, but he’s been there beside me, through the good times and the bad. I have three wonderful kids who have grown up to be three wonderful adults. I have a fantastic son by marriage and I have three of the best grandkids in the world. I’m glad they want me to be a part of their lives. I’m thankful I have both my parents. I worry about them more as they age and I’m glad for the times we have together. I’m thankful I knew my grandparents, all of them, including a great grandmother and grandfather. I know, through a roundabout way, they helped make me who I am today. I’m thankful I have a sister and a brother I love and who love me. I have cousins, aunts, uncles…all important in my life.

I’m glad I have a house to live in. I know there are people who have to go to a shelter or stay in their cars. It’s not just a house, and it’s not perfect, but I have a home. I’m thankful I have clean clothes to wear. Not everyone does. Some are tight and that means there is plenty to eat. Nobody here is hungry. I’m thankful for electricity. There is a washer, dryer, stove and refrigerator. I am fortunate to have luxuries, not just the necessities.

I’m thankful for the Internet. Dumb? Probably. But it has allowed me to connect with people I’d never have met or talked to otherwise. It lets me keep up with my sons, out of the state and out of the country, and my daughter, who is busy with her own life. I know what my sister, my cousin, my friends, are doing and they keep me connected with the rest of the family and world who don’t have the Internet.

I know I’m lucky; probably luckier than a lot of people. I am thankful for superficial things as well as for meaningful things. I am thankful, and I hope you can find a reason to be thankful too.

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And on this day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change 

And even though we all can still do more 

There's so much to be thankful for. 

I finished the autumn chickadee cowl. I just love sock yarn. The colors are so pretty and the patterns the yarn makes when knitted is beautiful. But I have no desire to make socks. Well, maybe one pair, someday, just to see if I can. But until then I’ll use it for other things.

Chickadee with three sock yarns

Folded over

With a pin

I’m starting a gift for my sister. Not for her, but for her to give her friend. It’s not a variegated yarn but it’s pretty. It’s purple with a pink and blue color mixed in. I don't have a picture yet.

Linen Stitch

 And bad as it sounds, I’m thankful I have yarn, probably too much, to work with when I want. But I won’t take it for granted.

Autumn colored yarn

So for tonight we pray for 

What we know can be. 

And every day we hope for 

What we still can't see. 

It's up to us to be the change. 

And even though we all can still do more. 

There's so much to be thankful for…