Full of Thanks

       Thanksgiving. It's a holiday that is very much over-looked these days. We all grew up hearing the story about the Native Americans and Pilgrims coming together to enjoy a massive feast, but who really wants to celebrate this? The Pilgrims used the Natives to show them how to survive, then took everything they had from them. That's why we focus on the feast. To concentrate on togetherness and being thankful. However, it has become more about the food than family togetherness and all the other things everyone should be thankful for. Everyone is so eager to jump into Christmas and getting gifts, they forget to enjoy Thanksgiving. I know we live in a fast paced world, always going or doing something, but it's important to not take the things we have for granted. Acknowledge what you are thankful for even if it is just a full belly on Thanksgiving.

       I won't lie, I too have taken the things I have (no matter how small or large they seem) for granted. But over this past year I have become a little gooey and emotional. With the state this world is in, I can't help it. People are so hateful and downright petty, it makes me sad to think about. Just this week the world pitched a hissy fit like a toddler over the color of a cup. Come on people. Is this cup inflicting pain on you? No, it's not. It's just someone picking a fight over nothing. The homeless rate in America is staggering, yet people complain they don't have the newest IPhone. There are 120,000 orphaned children in America, 400,000 live without permanent families (Source: http://www.sos-usa.org/our-impact/childrens-statistics). Yet people complain about a same sex couple adopting. Pettiness. Hatred. It's everywhere you turn.

       This is why I am overcome with joy when I think about all I have. It's not much to most people, but it is everything to me. I have these three beautiful children, inside and out. My son is eleven and I have twin daughters that are seven. They are the light of my life (Yes, I realize how corny that sounds). They are amazing with each other, hardly ever fighting, which is very odd among siblings. But my son has this amazingly huge heart and he spoils his sisters more than I do. I'm not saying they never fight, because it does happen, but I have been around other siblings and this makes me appreciate my children all the more.

       My husband. I don't even know how to describe how lucky I am to call this man mine. My son gets his heart from his father for sure. I am known to be a dreamer. I am constantly coming up with insane ideas or things to try and for the most part he never complains. He supports me in whatever adventure I decide to take and he doesn't rub it in my face if it fails. And to say the man spoils me is putting it lightly. I'm thankful I have a job, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. Doesn't matter if the job were stressful, the roof were a shack, or if my clothes are second hand. The point is that I have them. I'm grateful that overall, my family is healthy. My mother fought cancer for years and this year she received the good news she is cancer free, for this I am thankful. My pets (two dogs, one cat, one ferret, two birds, and fishies) are another joy in my life.

       I am grateful for my extended family. Every single person. Some of them may have different morals or view the world differently than I, but I love them anyways because that is what we are supposed to do. I am thankful that I can follow my passion in writing. I don't have a publisher or an agent, and yet I am still a published author. I have readers. I may not be well known, or on any bestseller list, but I have loyal readers and that is all I can ask for. I am grateful for those who call me a friend. Some I have known for countless years and others just a few years, but each one of them are special to me. I have friends that I may not talk to for a year, but if I need them they are by my side. I also have friends that I have never even met (yet) and they have been there for me in countless ways.

       I could make a list twenty feet long of my thanks, but I won't bore you that much. I'm stealing this line straight from The Water Boy, 'Life Is What You Make It' and it is 100% true. We only get one chance on this earth, lets not waste it. Be happy, make other people happy, and most of all BE THANKFUL!