Reflections

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with the day fast approaching, it begs me to reflect on the things I am thankful for.

1.  I know how blessed I am to have been raised by loving parents. They worked hard to provide for our family and as an adult I realized that while I did not get everything I wanted, I did not want for anything I needed. As a kid it is hard to distinguish the difference of "want" and "need."

2.  As farm kids we did all the things farm kids did back in the '60's and 70's: walked beans, baled hay, kicked corn, castrated pigs, shelled corn, mowed the yard, etc. But we also had fun: we "fished for hogs" - sat on top of the wooden hog feeder with an ear of corn tied with baling twine hanging down about a foot off the ground and waited for a pigs to take a bite! We built forts and tunnels in the hay mow, we played in the crick in the summer and ice skated on it in the winter.

3.  Growing up in a small community, we knew which houses to visit for trick or treat; homemade popcorn balls, cookies & full size candy bars! Our school bus driver, Aubrey King, gave us a Christmas present every year. If we were running late, he would pull up our drive and honk the horn to hurry us up. My friends were, for the most part, the kids of my parents friends from forever! If one of our sports team went to state, the town pretty well shut down to watch them play.

4.  I am blessed with my family, husband, children, step children, their significant others, a grandson and our extended families, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

5. The mistakes, errors in judgement and total screw ups are part of what is me, and while I regret them, they are blessings, I think my guardian angel was shook up pretty good a couple of times.

6. I wake up each day, to live in a country where I can say what I want, work at a job of my choosing, move about as I please, worship or not, etc. not because I did anything special or extraordinary but because people that I don't know, took it upon themselves to leave their home and come to the United States. Beyond that, relatives, friends and total strangers have fought and continue to fight for MY freedom to do these things.