Have a Blessed Thanksgiving

This is my very favorite holiday of the year. For those most fortunate of us who have loved ones near, it is such a treasure to enjoy.

Our precious daughter, Brooke, and son-in-law, Jim, are again hosting the day for us this year. God bless them 100fold. We will have all of our family, except for our son, Pace, and his family, who will be spending Thanksgiving with Dana’s mom in Colorado. Mom, almost 100, will enjoy another Thanksgiving with her multitude of great-grandchildren. My brother, Buddy, and his family will also be joining us with his assortment of beautiful little grandchildren. Four of our college grandchildren and one traveling entrepreneur will be home with us. How we look forward to seeing everyone.

 

 

May you have a most memorable and joyful Thanksgiving.  On occasion, it is a sacrifice to be thankful, but the rewards are great.

This time of the year is always a wonderful time to remember the little old lady:

The Story of the Little 92 Year Old Lady

I love to think about the story of the little 92-year-old lady. Please let me share it again. Here it is:

“The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.”

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. “Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.”

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.

“Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged… it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it … It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.”

“Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away.”

 

 

 

Masters of Gratitude

Let’s you and I do the same. Let’s practice being thankful, even when we don’t feel thankful. Let’s become Masters of Gratitude. In fact, now is the perfect time to begin thinking of and listing your ten top Gratitudes for 2019.