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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