Giving Thanks

There's something going 'round at Facebook...a whole lot of thankfulness. Someone came up with the idea that we post one thing we're thankful for each day of November.....it a great idea and a lot of fun to read....however, its not as easy as one might think. The first few days were easy, but each day gets a little bit harder to think of a post that is original....of course, there's nothing wrong with repeating that one is thankful for a roof over their head or a good marriage or wonderful kids but, hey, try to dig a little deeper and it is hard not to become a bit introspective.......I wonder if the one who came up with the idea realized that for some of us, this would be pretty thought provoking?

So, here's a few of my "I'm thankful for" posts (all written after I ran out of things that were easy to say I'm thankful for...)

November 13th: Today I'm thankful that I've aged enough and experienced enough to know that revenge is a dish best served cold - patience is a virtue - and God is always in control.

That one came about because of a few things we've been dealing with lately...things that brought out the Mama Bear in me but things that I could not act upon.....I had to be patient and wait for the comeuppance of the ones who were dealing out the issues....and I've had experience enough to know that that comeuppance would eventually come ~ and since God is in control, it would come about in ways much better suited to the situation than I, in any anger or hurt or feelings of betrayal or protectiveness, could ever hope to bring about.

November 16th: Today I'm thankful for the siblings God blessed me with......I didn't know how lucky I actually was until very recently!

Again, this one has a lot to do with some of the things we've had to face lately....while we fuss and moan at each other (or each others spouses) from time to time, we don't engage in character assassination - or blame each other for our own actions. The total family relationship is by no means a perfect one, but all in all, I'm thankful for the relationships we do have within the whole. I've realized over the past few months that how we were raised, how our parents dealt with us and with each other in times of stress or game play or any other facet of our lives truly does have an affect on how the siblings as adults will deal with each other. If we were taught that winning at everything (not just sports mind you!) was more important than how the win came about...then we learn to fight dirty and without empathy for the damage we inflect on others. If we are taught to rush, without much thought beforehand, into something just to wrest control of the situation out of the hands of others, then honesty and integrity are sometimes sacrificed.....and we don't have the ability to understand why others will now view us with suspicion and mis-trust. And if you are not taught that the manner in which you win can affect future relationships forever, then you don't understand why your "I want to have a relationship with you after all of this is over" is met with a total lack of reciprocation of that feeling.

Like I said, once you've said that you're thankful for all the things that come so easily and you find that you have to dig a bit deeper for real gratitude, you might just get a bit more thoughtful about the less obvious blessings that you take for granted.....

So, most of all this week, I'm thankful for the parents that God blessed me with - parents who taught me empathy and compassion and that winning isn't everything and that how we treat our siblings does matter...........

And the little blessings that we also sometimes forget to be grateful for?

Today: Hunter and I got to watch the shuttle take off yesterday from the MacDonald's parking lot....the best view of it we've ever had....I'm thankful that I decided to take him there for a treat after school - otherwise we'd have missed it completely - life is full of little blessings disguised as coincidence.

Here's a challenge for bloggers - try to come up with one thing you are thankful for every day for the remainder of this month......and don't be too surprised when after a few days, you have to dig a bit deeper.....