Things I'm Thankful For, 2008

Tomorrow in the US is Thanksgiving Day, so it's appropriate to stop for a moment to consider all the things in my life for which I'm thankful. Even though I may blow off steam here from time to time, on the whole, I've got it pretty darn good.

I'm thankful for:

--my faith. I know that ultimately God is in charge and whatever He leads me to, He'll see me through. Now, admittedly, sometimes I have a hard time reminding myself of that, but it's a fact.

--my husband. Richard is the absolute love of my life and I just can't imagine what I'd do without him. I get all warm and fuzzy when I know he's planning for our future together too, like when we were at a service for one of our fellow church members who passed, and the minister was talking about the gentleman and how he visited his wife every day in the nursing home. Richard asked me later how we were going to make sure we were still together if one of us had to go to some place like that... Now *that's* thinking ahead. :)

--my mom. She'll be 80 next week, and I'm blessed to still have her independent and relatively healthy.

--my business partner Bob. The big brother I never had growing up came into my life 10 years ago.

--my stitching buddies. All of them are the sisters I never had. We've been together for quite awhile now, and seen each other through a lot. It makes me happy to see them each week, to talk to them on the phone, to get email from them, and to chat with them on the computer.

--my friends on Ravelry. What an unexpected bonus I got when I signed up to join Ravelry to see a few patterns and get reviews on yarn and books!!! I have met so many wonderful people there; participated in some great swaps; and found a group of NASCAR fans as rabid as I am. And I was touched beyond belief this past summer when people I've never "met" from there contributed generously to our efforts to raise money for the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation in memory of my dad. They only knew me from my snarky posts and my odd sense of humor, yet they wanted to help me. How great is that??

--my church. I can't imagine life without our church and in particular, our church choir and handbell group. What a fantastic bunch of people.

--the fact that Richard still has a job and that my business, while down a bit, is still going and paying the bills.

--the fact that I have a warm home, plenty to eat, and clothes to wear.

--our troops and the sacrifices they make to keep all of us safe.

--the fact that the election process is (almost) over. I'll be honest: my side didn't win, but my prayer is that our country can come together and our new leadership can make the right decisions.

Oh, and one last thing.... I'm thankful to that lady at the Publix today who let me go in front of her with my one small item when she had a huge cart full of stuff. I'll pay it forward as soon as I get an opportunity.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!!