2012 Thankful November Day 12 - Sharing a Special Moment with Our Grandma Rosie

Thankful November Day 12



Today I am thankful to have been able to share a special moment with my husband's grandma.

Grandma comes from a large family.  When she was a teenager her brother Carl joined the military and left home to go fight in WWII.  Sadly, he was killed in the war and she never got to see him alive again.  Carl was brought back to the States and was buried in San Bruno, California at the Golden Gate National Cemetery.

Grandma has shared stories with Greg and I about her brother being killed in the war and she told us the last time she was at his graveside was at his funeral and burial in 1945.  She has often expressed a desire to go back and visit his grave and Greg and I have wanted to make that dream come true for her for some time now.  Several months back, on a whim when we were in San Francisco for the day and grandma was with us, we tried to go visit the cemetery much to her surprise, but we arrived after closing time.  We promised her we would take a trip back to the cemetery when it was open so she could visit her brother's grave.

Greg, my husband, decided since he had the day off from work that today, the day after Veterans Day, would be a great time to take her to see her brother's grave.

We picked up grandma this afternoon for her first trip to see where her brother was buried since her last visit 67 years ago.  One of her friends, a florist, had made her an absolutely beautiful arrangement to leave at her brother's graveside.

It was a touching, emotional and beautiful moment to share with grandma and I am so glad we were able to be there for her during this special occasion.  It was also so very humbling to look out at the rows upon rows of headstones and be reminded that these were all the graves of men and women who have fought for our country, many of whom laid down their lives during that fight to allow us our freedoms!

How can we ever express our thanks enough!

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2012 Thankful November Day 5 - A Husband Who Works Hard, Good Credit and Good Luck

Thankful November Day 5

Today we traded in our 8 year old Trailblazer SUV for a new to us GMC Yukon.  Our faithful old Trailblazer was starting to show its age and it was time to say goodbye while it still had some trade-in value.  As we were going through the auto buying process and doing a lot of waiting in a salesman's office it gave me some time to think about what specifically I am thankful for today.

First, I am so thankful for my husband who is a hard worker with a really good job.  I know I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate all he does for us to be able to live this life.  Because of him we are able to live comfortably.  We are certainly not rich, but because of my hardworking husband we are able to have a nice home, drive nice vehicles and enjoy a comfortable existence.  It's not always easy,  we have had our struggles from time to time, but we certainly have so many blessings that  many others in this world do without and I realize how lucky I am to enjoy the life we do because of my husband willingness to work hard for what we have.

I am also thankful for all that we have done over the years since we first married to build good credit.  On days like today I realize how thankful I am that we have made decisions and worked hard over the years to build our credit rating up from a rating that wasn't so good when we were first married due to being young and naive.  It has definitely made life easier when it comes to certain financial affairs.

Lastly, I am thankful for good luck and for the good Lord guiding us to just the right new vehicle.  We needed to make this car purchase decision fairly quickly and we were lucky enough to find just what we were looking for online, in a price range that worked for our budget, and it was at a dealer close to where we live.  Our car buying experience was easy, quick and surprisingly hassle free, which made me very thankful, since car shopping is not exactly in my top 50 favorite things to do.

Until tomorrow...

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2012 Thankful November Day 4 - Family Time

Thankful November Day 4

Today I am thankful for time spent with family. 

Today was my niece, Melanie's, 17th birthday and we all gathered at my sister and brother-in-law's home to celebrate her birthday.  Even my husband was able to take a day off from work and attend her birthday.  The only one missing was my nephew, Melanie's brother, as he was off hunting with his friends.  I know we all missed him being there with all of us.

I am so grateful that my husband and I live within just a few miles from our family members.  Both my husband's and my extended family all live in the general surrounding area of our hometown.  Our parents, siblings, those grandparents who remain living, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all just a few minutes drive from our front door and we all have a fairly close relationship with one another.

When I hear of families who live away from their loved ones and only get to visit them on holidays or other rare occasions it makes me appreciate being so close to my own family.  I appreciate that we can get together on a regular basis or be at their door step in a matter of minutes when needed.

I absolutely would not want it any other way!  So today I am thankful for family time spent with our loved ones.

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2012 Thankful November Day 2 - I love that my husband loves the holidays as much as I do.

Thankful November Day 2

Today I thankful that I married a man who loves to embrace and celebrate annual traditions and the holidays as much as I do.  Even though we do not have children, I think there is still an inner child in both of us.  We both grew up in families who love the holidays, with mom's who go all out decorating for the seasons, and that tradition has carried on to both my husband and me.

I am so lucky to have a husband who enjoys helping me deck out the house for holidays like Halloween and Christmas and who is right there in the middle of helping me plan, prepare for, cook, and host holiday meals at our home.  I couldn't pull them off without him.

Greg's Jack-O-Lantern

My Jack-O-Lantern

He was right there in the kitchen with me carving his own jack-o-lantern before Halloween.  He helped me put the finishing touches on our Halloween night decor and was out on our front porch handing out candy to all our trick-or-treaters who stopped by that night.

In a few weeks I know I can count on him to be at the grocery store helping me shop for our Thanksgiving meal and then I can guarantee I will have him in the kitchen by my side helping me prepare a delicious Turkey Day meal for our family.

When Christmas rolls around we'll be outside again together decking out hour home in Christmas cheer and the we will joyfully set out on our traditional annual trips to a couple of local Christmas parades, light displays, and he will be loving it as much as I do.  Then when the time comes I know can count on him to help me shop for and wrap gifts if I need the help and he will once again help me prepare a fabulous meal for our family Christmas day.

I am so thankful I have a husband who shares my love for the holidays and shares in the workload of preparing for the holidays equally as much he shares the joy of these holiday moments with me.

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2012 Thankful November Day 1 - Being Alive

A few years back I was prompted by some friends on an Internet message board I frequent to participate in a blog challenge.  The challenge was to post at least one thing I was thankful for each day of November.  It made me really examine and appreciate both the big things in life that I am thankful for as well as to think about the little things in my life that are to be appreciated that I sometimes tend to overlook, and on days when I wasn't having such a great day it made me dig inside myself to find something, at least one tiny thing, good about that day.

Today as I was on Facebook I noticed a lot of friends starting this challenge again as status update posts, so I am once again prompted to join them each day during the month of November in posting the things in my life for which I give thanks.  Rather than filling up my Facebook page with my daily postings I have decided to post them here on my blog and then link my post to my page.  

I attempted to challenge myself last year, but I admit I wasn't good about keeping up with my daily thankful posts.  I am hopeful that I will meet my goal of daily posting this November.

Thankful November Day 1:

Today I am thankful for life.  I can't express how much I appreciate living, breathing, having a mostly healthy body, and for being here on this earth with my husband, and being able to share my life with him, my parent's, and all of our extended family, friends and loved ones.

Two years ago on this day I was staying at my parent's home, pretty much in solitary confinement, confined to one bedroom and a bathroom after having undergone Radioactive Iodine Therapy treatment for Thyroid Cancer just a few days prior to the first of November.  I was in confinement for 7 days due to being radioactive.  I wasn't allowed to leave home, eat with my family, see my two cats, or be near anyone for more than just a few minutes and even then I had to keep my distance.  This meant not seeing my husband for an entire week.  No daily hugs or kisses from him or anyone else and lots of time spent alone.  It gave me a lot of time to think and to be thankful, even then, when I was so uncertain what my future would hold or if I would even have a future. 

Two years ago I learned a lot about myself, about life, about love, and about being thankful for all I have been given by the good Lord up above.  That time in my life changed me forever, and I hope it made me a better person, a more appreciative one.

I don't just take life for granted anymore, and now I know without a doubt that bad stuff can happen to ANYBODY.  Up until my Thyroid Cancer diagnoses two years ago I lived a pretty charmed life, but I certainly did not always appreciate or realize the value of living such a great life.  I now understand that we never know our fate and what each day may hold.  It doesn't matter what your age or status in life is,  as the saying goes, "sometimes shit happens," and "bad things happen to good people," and we just have to learn to deal with it and be thankful we are here and able to deal with it.

Don't get me wrong, I don't wake up every day with bells on and a smile on my face ready to face the day thinking it is going to be perfect and wonderful.  I still have my moments when I get grumpy, am short with people I love, and I don't always show my most charming side to everyone, but two years later and cancer free, I do try and remember more often than not how very lucky I am to be on this earth and how very lucky I am to be surrounded with so many people who love me and who believe in me.

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Nov. 22, 2008 - Gratitude Post Challenge Day 21

Tonight as I sit here I'm having a hard time thinking of what to write about that I am thankful for today.

I have many different little things I'm thankful for, some of them are things I've already blogged about, some of them are little things I appreciate but they seem so minor, but the thing that is really sticking in my mind tonight is what a wonderful marriage I have and how lucky I am to be married to my husband, who is so much more different and caring than so many men that I know.

Today my husband and I attended a wedding. As I sat there and listed to the deacon's wonderful sermon I was reminded of what a wonderful marriage and husband I have. The deacon was speaking about advice his father had given him as a young man just getting married.

The advice the deacon's father gave him was to be sure to kiss your spouse every morning, every night before you go to sleep, every time you leave the house, every time you come home, and every time you see your spouse, even if it is just out on the street because you never know when it may be the last time you will see him/her.

It made my heart swell because I realized that for the most part my husband and I do that every single day. My husband gives me a kiss every morning before he leaves for work and then again when he returns home at night. He kisses me every night before we go to bed, and if either of us goes to leave the house we give each other a quick kiss and say bye before leaving.

Yes, there are occasions when we don't kiss before leaving home, but I would say they are extremely rare. Whenever we are out and about my husband will always reach for my hand to hold it as we walk along or ride in the car together.

It means so much to me that he is not afraid to show his affection to me both privately and in public. I cannot tell you the number of couples I know that very rarely, if ever show affection toward each other when others are around. I'm sure there are many of them who don't get much affection when they are alone together either.

It makes me sad.

I've talked with friends who have husbands that vary rarely shower their spouse with compliments or words of love, let alone show their affection by giving a hug or a kiss, without expecting something more to come of it. I just cannot comprehend what it must be like to be in such a relationship.

I got very lucky in the husband department when I found Greg and I am so thankful to him that he is loving and shows affection toward me every single day.

I couldn't help but feel my heart swell with love for my husband as I was once again reminded of what a wonderful spouse and what I wonderful marriage I have while listening to the deacon's sermon today.

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