Gratitude

I've been suffering from 'writer's block' for some time now.  A friend complained to me last week that when she checked my blog, the posting was old.  I decided to do something about it. When I saw the date of my last posting, I was shocked.  So much time had passed.  But, with my Words with Friends, photography, volunteer knitting of baby beanies for a local hospital, 2 - 3 mile daily walks, checking Facebook, Twitter and my emails, etc....what to do....what to do.

I decided that I could think about all the things I take for granted and those things for which I should be grateful.  I'm always verbally thanking the good Lord for all my blessings, but haven't put it in writing in a while.

When I complained about something a number of years ago, a friend said, "You should be thankful that you got out of bed this morning."  I immediately thought of his massive heart attack.  That statement jolted me into changing my perspective, that is, until I began to take it for granted all over again.  We do many things unconsciously until we're unable for whatever reason.  I guess that's just human nature.  We should be thankful we can see, talk, walk, and generally use all our senses.

This past May I traveled to New York for my grandson's graduation from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Even though it was rainy in Worcester with the cold temperature of 46 degrees, and I had not brought a coat, I was certainly grateful for the opportunity to attend.   My visit seemed to whoosh by me.  While I was in New York, my son-in-law pointed out the baby Robins nesting in behind their basketball backboard.

Being short of stature, this was the best photo I could get.  The baby robins were calling to their mother.  I suspect they were hungry.  However, a short time later, there she was sitting in the nest.

Brings me back to being thankful.  Thankful is a state of mind.  It's a choice.  Instead of concentrating on wants and perceived or real needs, it's best to think about our current situation and choose to dwell on what is good about it.  It's work, I will admit.  Frustration does rear its ugly head, but the practice of expressing gratitude is fruitful.  At least, I'm back to writing.  I still have a host of things I want to accomplish as well as a host of things I'd like to have.  I believe that there's nothing wrong with that as long as I maintain a balanced perspective. Thanks for letting me share.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog.

Please feel free to share a comment

Perhaps by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

The Book of Micah by Catherine Hall (on Kindle and the Nook) 

Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was certainly a busy one, but very enjoyable.  On Wednesday, my granddaughter made the pies while I peeled the apples.  My daughter cooked the turkey which was very moist.  I made my sweet potato casserole, but as I became engaged in conversation my granddaughter added the marshmallows at the right time.  My dinner consisted of a tiny bit of turkey and a little mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Delish.... The dinner on Thursday with the family went by very quickly ending with an unplanned card game while watching "The Heat" with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.  A half sandwich of turkey and cranberry sauce was just the snack I needed at the end of the day.

I was so happy to see my Marine grandson, now a Lance Corporal.  Haven't seen him since April.  Looking forward to seeing him at Christmas.  Looking good.  He's happy to be a US Marine.  He graciously took the time to play cards with his grandmother.

Friday's excursion was a trip to the mall with my daughter and granddaughter to meet her other grandmother.  We missed the early morning crowd.  Our visit, though not purposely planned, seemed to be sandwiched between the busiest times.  I am not a crowd lover so this was perfect for me.  Before we left, we enjoyed coffee at Gloria Jean's in the Poughkeepsie Galleria.  I recommend it.  We returned home to prepare Thursday's leftovers for lunch with my daughter and son-in-law's friends visiting from Albany.  That evening I prepared to move to another daughter's in Fishkill so I could be ready for an early start the next morning.

Around six a.m., we piled into the van to travel to the Philadelphia area to participate in the Jamie O'Brien Kindem Memorial Run ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/216973548459287/ )   The temperature was 28 degrees.  Since I'm used to warmer weather, I wore four layers of clothing.  I was happy to be able to participate.  I was just a walker pushing one of the strollers (we had my daughter's two little ones with us).  We joined Jamie's husband, children and family at McKenzie's Brew House on Swedesford Road in Berwyn PA.  The staff was friendly and handled the crowd cordially and expertly.  I had hummus with flat breat, actually just two pieces, on the Tappas menu.  My son-in-law had what looked like a very generous Bacon Cheeseburger.  My daughter told us her fish tacos were delicious  Even the children enjoyed the ample servings from their menu.  My daughter made a point of stopping to speak with the hostess to tell her how good the food was.  If you are in that area of Pennsylvania, you might want to stop in.  Of course, we had more traffic probably due to this weekend being a big shopping opportunity coupled with the celebration of Hannukah and Thanksgiving.  When we arrived back home in Fishkill NY, we were ready for bed.

On Sunday, I accompanied my Beacon daughter to Worcester MA to bring my second oldest grandson to WPI.  The trip of 159 miles took us 6 hours.  Unbeknownst to us, there had been a 70 car pileup on the 290, due to early morning icy road conditions.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities.  As we inched along, we thought it was due to the conflagration of holidays and all the college students returning to school. Thankfully, our GPS put us on the right roads at the right time.  Without it, we might have been sitting in even worse traffic.  I didn't get an opportunity to see the campus as it was dark by the time we arrived.  Maybe another time.

Since I'm a "goer" this weekend was quite enjoyable for me.

Happy Hannukah!

Please feel free to share a
comment

Check out my other photos

Check out The Book of Micah

(Now on Kindle and on the Nook)