Happy Thanksgiving

One thing that I really love about Thanksgiving Day is hearing people tell who and what they are thankful for.  That's my favorite part of this day.

I've already done that in this blog; here and here.  My life and my happiness are pretty much the same as they were then.  Plus, as far as sentiment goes, I doubt there's any way I can top my husband this year.

So blog friends, I'll just leave you with this thought.  Remember that happiness isn't about having everything you want.  It's about wanting what you already have.  Keep reminding yourselves and your loved ones about how special they are even after the turkey is gone, because true gratitude is an everyday feeling.

I'm not rushing out to buy cheaper electronics tomorrow, or standing in line for anything.   I'm going to snuggle with my little ones, have coffee and chat with my big ones, and smile knowingly across the room at my husband.

My life is good, just the way it is, and I feel blessed every day.  I hope you do too :)

Cannonball

Would it hurt, do you think, to step away from that straight and narrow line?  That path you've chalked from here to there, that direction really going nowhere?  Don't you ever want to curve away, from the predictable design?

It's a leap of faith, true.  But we have faith in so much we can't see.  We can't know what will or will not be.  And at the end of your self-prescribed path, what is left but to come back the same way?

Aren't you curious at all, to swan dive off the edge?  To close your eyes and take a chance, to land somewhere unplanned?

It doesn't matter that your line is rainbow hued and bright.  I can see the ruler's edge underneath, it's unforgiving linear groove.  I can see the places worn so thin that to step there would be a trap, with iron jaws and teeth that bite.

I'll help you if you allow.  I'm already there, but I'll come back.  Take my hand and close your eyes.

Cannonball off the side.

Their Heaven

A lonely woman.  Smiles as she lays in her bed dying.  A life alone, a love denied, and she tells herself gratefully that it was all worth it.  So she peacefully goes without burdening a soul, least of all her own.  She takes her last breath and the lights go down on her empty room. 

A family man.  Smiles as he lays in his bed dying.  A lifetime of love and memories follow him to his sleep, and he tells himself gratefully that it was all worth it.  His chest rises and falls once more, as the lights go down on the tear-streaked faces of his children. 

A lonely woman.  Opens her new eyes to a heaven of her own creation. Tears of regret fall like rain as she lifts her face to gaze into the nothing, alone forever, but for a single outstretched hand.

A family man.  Opens his new eyes to a heaven of his own creation.  His practiced smile shines through the clearing rain and his heart swells to appreciate the beauty all around.  Through the mist he notices a sad, lost woman who reminds him of one he once knew.  Kindly, he offers a hand.

A timid smile, a silent assent, two hands clasp again.  Yet who was saved and who was lost, in the heaven of their own creation?

30...Picture a Lost Friend

I lost a good friend four years ago tomorrow.   This is my dog Sasha.  I miss her every day, but I imagine that in Dog Heaven she is happy and well :)

She was the best dog in the history of dogs.  I hope she knew that.

29...Picture My Babies

This picture always makes me smile.  Jaden jealously decided she wanted to squeeze in for some Mommy lap, but once there she couldn't stop smiling at her new baby sister.  I love my sweet little girls!