A week of thanks...Monday

In honor of this week of thanks, I thought I would take some time to reflect on the things in my life that I am most thankful for.  Turns out, I'm not the only one thinking along these lines...the message at church on Sunday was focused on it, the news is full of feel-good stories, and of course Facebook.  Seems that everyone is talking about being thankful lately.  What's up with that?  Maybe it has something to do with a little something we like to call Thanksgiving.... 

Do you know what seems weird to me?  How many people REALLY care about the actual holiday and what it represents?  I'll be honest and say that I could really care less about the Pilgrims and the Indians and the meal that they had together, blah, blah, blah.  Sorry if you do...but I really doubt that you do.  What is it about a Thursday in the middle of November that inspires us all to gather with friends and family and take time to stop and appreciate each other and our blessings? Shouldn't we all really try to do that on more of a regular basis?  It seems so easy to get wrapped up in our day-to-day stresses and hardships and to forget about how fortunate we really are in life.  I know that I'm guilty.  Totally guilty.  I do it all the time, even though I try my best to not...I'm worried about this and stressed about that and grumpy about this and feeling sorry for myself about that.  Then all of sudden, it's time for Turkey Day and I'm all about being thankful!  Thankful that I only have to work one more day this week, thankful that there's lots of great sales going on, thankful that I don't have to cook the turkey, and REALLY thankful that my mom has decided NOT to make pumpkin pie for dessert this year.  

I kid... Well, sort of.  I AM thankful for all of those things, but those certainly are not what I'm TRULY thankful for. This week I'm going to try and write every day about the things that I am TRULY thankful for.  And...in no particular order.  Seester...you already know that you're gonna be in the mix somewhere, so don't feel bad that I'm writing about the folks first.  I'm just doing it out of respect.  And...because I love them more. (wink)

So...what I'm thankful for #1:  my parents.  Also known as Mommy and Daddy.  Yes...for real.  I call them that.  And so does Heidi, but she'll probably deny it.  We both went through a period in Jr High/High School where we tried to call them Mom & Dad like everyone else and it just felt weird.  And we really only did it when we were in front of our friends, so I'm sure our parents were laughing on the inside.  They knew we'd come around....and we did.  And now we even do it in front of people...most of the time.    

Plain and simple, my parents are amazing people and I am so, so, so lucky to have them so close for so many reasons.  First and foremost I love that Hailee gets to spend so much time with them and is so close with her Mormor and Morfar (Swedish 101:  Mormor = Mother's mother and Morfar = Mother's father).  If you don't know, my mom is from Sweden.  We didn't just randomly choose to call them that to seem eccentric or cultured or something.  Hailee is always THRILLED to go over to their house and loves them so much.  Growing up, we never lived close to either set of grandparents and I always felt like I missed out a little.  Especially growing up in Idaho Falls.  My friends would have 25 people at Thanksgiving dinner and that was just the immediate family.  We had four.  Point being...I know that Hailee will grow up to treasure the relationship that she has with them and I love that they are in her very earliest memories. 

I'm also thankful because they continue to be such great examples to me.  Even though I'm a mature adult with very little left to learn (cough cough), I still continue to learn great life lessons from them every time I'm with them.  They just celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary yesterday and that is something that I admire so much.  I'm sure they've have their ups and downs, but they've worked through it and have such a strong marriage and still are very much in love.   I can't even say that I remember very many instances growing up where they seemed to be having problems.  I'm sure that they did like every married couple...so either they were great about hiding it, or the moments were so horrific that I've blocked them from my mind.  Pretty sure it's the first one...

My mom is always so thoughtful and giving and always has a smile on her face.  Always.  No matter what.  She is amazing in the kitchen and has the patience of a saint.  My dad has taught me to make smart decisions...and to pack a car and make campfires like a champ!  Now I'm not saying that all of my decisions have been GOOD ones, but they have certainly been well thought out! 

Both of my parents are a great example of strength to me, because of what they've been through the last few years.  My dad is struggling with an incurable and rare disease and still manages to have a good attitude about it all.  His quality of life is quickly lessening, but not once have I heard him complain about it and he still manages to have a smile on his face whenever I see him. My mom takes care of him 100% of the time and although I can't imagine the emotional strain that she must be under, she also has such a positive attitude.  Every time I go and spend time with them, I realize that I have nothing to complain about.  They could be miserable and grouchy and bitter about their situation...God knows that I've felt that way about certain circumstances in my life.  But, they aren't.  They are the same Mommy and Daddy that I've known for the last 30-ish years...and they just keep on keepin' on day in and day out.  Every single time I leave their house, I think about how amazing my life truly is.  And even when it's hard, it's still so much better than the lives of so many others.  

Anyway...I want them and everyone else to know how thankful I am for them and the life that they've provided me.  And I'm going to try and do more to make sure they know it...on a regular basis.