Thankfulness among the clouds

I am thankful for views like these that mean that I will soon be surrounded by those I love dearly.

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Yeah…

…I’m taking Friday off.

Perhaps Saturday and Sunday, too.

Maybe.

We’ll see.

Have a safe and fun weekend!

Photo taken at Kanapaha Botanical Garden, Gainesville, FL on October 30, 2009

Thoughts on Thankfulness

It had been my intent to spend the month of November focusing on that for which I am thankful. Not just the “big stuff” like my family (and precious Aiden!) and our health and home and the material things, but the little things, too. Here it is, Day 5, and I’ve seemingly failed at my own challenge!

Actually, I do have a list that I’ve been adding to each day, thinking of how I could write about this or that, and do I have an appropriate photo to share, and so on. I find myself going through my day thinking about stuff – the things I see, the people I know and the ones I meet, the places I go and the places I plan to go, and so on….just trying to think about being thankful for whatever I’m thinking of…

I guess, in a way, I haven’t failed. I just can’t corral my thoughts into words.  So, for today, I’m being thankful for having so much to think about. 

I will continue in this endeavor, but I may not succeed in getting something written each day. I plan to continue finding ways to appreciate all that God has blessed me with.

We are very blessed indeed!

Photo: “A Tangle of Live Oaks,” taken October 25, 2009 along the golf course behind our house.

Laughter

I am blessed to be part of a family that enjoys a good laugh. We’ve all been part of practical jokes, whether instigator or victim, and we have shared many a laugh over a comical situation or misstatement or joke or action.  Laughter has gotten us through some difficult times and through some tense moments.  Some incidents were so funny, that it just takes a word or phrase to cause us to crack up at the memory – for instance, the inane phrase “hand on ceiling” will have us all laughing uncontrollably for hours (it’s a long story).  We learned long ago that being able to laugh at ourselves is a key to survival…and it can be healthy, too.  Laughter is a great exercise for the body, mind, and soul.

If I wasn’t able to laugh at myself, I wouldn’t be able to post this old photo that makes us all chuckle.

Yes, this is me, clowning around at a festival at my children’s grade school about 1994.

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.
~ Mark Twain

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
~ Yiddish proverb

Something to read

Like so many others, our family (well, most of us, anyway!) enjoys reading. Some of us even keep books stashed in various places, all in various stages of being read.  I am thankful that our love of reading is even being passed down to the small ones.

I know I’m looking forward to cuddling up with Aiden and a good picture book later this month.  

Photo: “borrowed” from Laura’s blog