Dear Reader:

Joan texted me yesterday (with the title photo she took of this leaf)….letting me know that Eva Cate found this gorgeous leaf in downtown Huntsville…and that it is….just beautiful!

A swirl of colors in transition…just like all of us….changing in each stage of life.

About a week ago…Honey read an article titled: Giving thanks (by Kim Ode/Star Tribune/Minneapolis.) She said she immediately thought of me…I am glad because Kim Ode’s article is wonderful…perfect for this season of gratitude and giving thanks.

Kim recognizes that a strange contradiction/relationship exists concerning gratitude. She says:

” Being on the receiving end of someone’s thanks has us walking on those particularly puffy clouds that fill the autumn skies.

Yet when it comes to extending gratitude, we sometimes drag our heels, playing a game of “You First.”  Expressing thanks might make us feel indebted, even weak, which is a feeling most of us try to avoid.

We’re missing the point.

The crazy thing about being thankful is that it’s the shortest distance between feeling okay and feeling great. The sensation doesn’t light up the sky, but is more one of quiet satisfaction. We actually feel a little lighter for having breathed deep and clambered to that higher road.

It doesn’t even matter what we say, but what prompts us. It’s not the feat, but the humility.

November is the one month when there’s a day specifically set aside for gratitude…for being thankful for a job, for family, for recovery, for friends, for favors extended, or a second chance. Some years it may stand for just having made it to November in one piece. 

Come Thanksgiving, though, make sure to thank those who make the pies…for all the pieces of pie made available to us. We should always be grateful for pie.”

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  Last night at my annual Pre-Thanksgiving dinner… we could choose from as many pies as we wanted….Pumpkin Cream Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Pecan Pie, and Banana Pudding. And who should we be thankful for…for the pies...Edwards…(not sure if it is Mr. or Mrs. Edwards?)

 So Thankful for family….We were a dozen strong last night… We missed you Turners and Tommy and Kaitlyn…but know you are having a wonderful time in Huntsville and Chattanooga…Happy Thanksgiving!

  Mollie and Rutledge arrived first and since there was some daylight left I showed Rutledge his new tree named for him…and let him play with his new toy truck that Boo Boo had to give him early. He loved his new hat Mollie gave him and kept it on the whole night.

* Two special shout-outs for thanks for Thanksgiving miracles among our blog readers!

1) Fran Townsend…Her back was hurting…initially the doctors found nothing in the back area…but did find a mass in one kidney…she went in and had the malignancy and kidney removed…a clean sweep with no further treatments anticipated…a true Thanksgiving miracle for one of the blog’s greatest supporters.

2) Mary…My wonderful anonymous supporter for the Race for the Cure…(Chris Frazier’s friend who lives in Amish country in Delaware)…discovered her newest grandchild/granddaughter, Caroline, had serious complications in the digestive/stomach/intestines tract that required more surgery when born…Mary and her husband raced to be there…fearing the worst…but Jesus got there first…and baby Caroline is coming home for Thanksgiving. God is so good!

Miracles happen every day if we open our eyes to them.

So until tomorrow..Let’s don’t play childish games like “You First” with gratitude and thanksgiving…if we do…we will miss out on the highest of highs God gave us….giving to another without keeping score.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*  Thanks Lee for my flowers…so sweet! Old aunties love getting flowers from handsome young nephews at Thanksgiving!)

* Joan sent this picture of Jake and the family is hooting over his royalty’s “roundness”…I told Joan I thought he was trying out for the Tom “Butterball” Turkey Look A-like contest! John and Jake…some male bonding time.

Everyone have a well-deserved holiday….eat up or you will regret it until this time next year. (That’s a long time!) Beautiful centerpiece Joan!