Giving Thanks

I can't believe Thanksgiving is here again already. I feel old saying it, but time really does go faster the older you get. I am thankful for so much this year:

1) My health. It sounds simple, but if you don't have your health, you don't have nuthin'. I am so thankful for my strong body and mind. Although, a body with a few less pounds would be appreciated too. There have been so many young people that I know of who have struggled with cancer and other diseases, and some who have even succumbed to their illness. Being able to get out of bed on my own accord and live and enjoy life is a blessing that I cherish.

2) My family. I am so thankful to have a loving, supportive family. There are so many people who do not have a close relationship with their parents and siblings. I am so lucky to have wonderful parents who love me and support me and the decisions I make. They may not like all the choices I make or things I do, but they love me despite, and in spite of, those choices. I talk to my mom almost every day and visit with my parents often. I am so grateful for the sister I have and the relationship we have. There is something magical about having someone else who grew up the same way you did and knows almost everything about you - past and present.

3) My husband. M is my best friend. Like I told him at his birthday party, there is no one else I would want to walk through this life with. He is my strength, my confidante and my balance. M and I are always 'opposite' in thinking when it counts. We will share our opposing viewpoints with each other, take time to ourselves, then reconvene. At that point, our viewpoints changed to the opposite. haha! We put ourselves into each others' shoes. Sometimes it makes for difficult decision making, but we definitely see each others' 'point'. I am so grateful to my husband for his support and love of me.

4) My job. Being a stay at home mom is the hardest, most frustrating best job ever. Even though the day to day housework and tasks are mind numbing at best, being able to see J grasp something I taught him and watching him learn and grow makes my heart burst with happiness. My heart hurts for the women who want to stay home, but can't because of financial issues. And because of that reason, it gives me the energy and the drive to volunteer in the community. As a stay at home mom, I have make the time to give to the community I live in, since many other adults cannot due to work schedules. Although I may not agree with Hillary Clinton on political issues, I will agree that "it takes a village to raise a child".

5) My husbands job. This may sound like a silly thing to be thankful for, but in the economy we are currently living in, I am very thankful. Not only am I thankful he has a job, but that he has a job he loves.

6) My son. Where do I even begin? I am so thankful to have a healthy, smart, active, willful, handsome boy that I love with all my being. Dealing with the terrible twos has had me in a tizzy lately. It can be so easy to forget how THANKFUL I am for him when I'm thinking about putting him in a box with FREE written in permanent ink and then placing said boy-in-box on the front porch for the first sucker taker.

Then I remember the kids who will never walk or talk. The kids whose parents would be DELIGHTED if their kids got paint everywhere while painting a picture or dumped their milk on the floor in a sign of defiance. The kids who may never walk out of the hospital. And I think of the parents who go to bed every night praying that their child will make it through the night to live another day. And the couples who can't get pregnant, and if/when they do, they lose the baby.

Remembering those things reminds me of how lucky I am to have the child I do.

J keeps me grounded. He doesn't care what kind of house we live in, what kind of car I drive, what my hair looks like, or where we go on vacation. He just wants to be loved and hugged and kissed and taken care of.

I love J's confidence. I know he's only 2, but he doesn't care if he's the only one running around in a diaper. He doesn't care if he's the only one not wearing a costume at the Halloween party. He's his own person.

I love our snuggle time. J has been been sporadically taking naps, so I have instituted 'snuggle time' as a way to get a few minutes of downtime. Snuggle time consists of me saying it is snuggle time, Jack running into the office to grab one of our soft, fleece blankets and he and I snuggling on the couch watching a short video. Sounds simple enough, but at the age of two, snuggle times are getting fewer. It allows me a few sweet, uninterrupted moments of holding him against me, smelling his hair and kissing his head. I know these moments won't last forever. I see them slipping away. And in a way, it makes me happy. He's more confident and independent - exactly what I want him to be. But it also makes me sad to think that a few years from now, snuggle time will be the very last thing J wants to do.

I am so thankful for the healthy, happy child that is mine. And that's what makes all the difference. I have been a nanny, a daycare provider and a babysitter. I have taken darn good care of other people's kids. But those kids weren't mine. Having J was such an eye opener to the responsibility and wonder that is MY CHILD. Whether he becomes a serial killer or a rocket scientist, it comes back on me. And seeing your child do things you do and have a temperment like you do, is scary and wonderful all at the same time.

I love having J in my life. Every morning with him is an invitation to fun, laughter, learning, patience and love. And every night is a hearty sigh, filled with the contentment that we did our best and had fun doing it.

I thank God for all the blessings He has given me this year, and throughout my life. I am thankful for the daily guidance of the Lord, because without Him, it would be a tough row to hoe.

Happy Thanksgiving!