Give Thanks for Christmas

A lot of people seem to be putting in a lot of energy hating on the early signs of Christmas. There are commercials, music, shopping ads, and decorations. Is it early? Yes, probably so; but why spend so much thought on it? Especially negative thought.
While I am not personally erecting my tree and lighting up my house to be seen from across the neighborhood, I am not exercising my anger on people and places that do.
Honestly, I get excited when I see the Hershey kisses ring in "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" on tv. I get excited when I see the neighborhood entrance ways decorated with lights and wreaths. I get excited when I see candy canes and Santa Claus in the stores. It's Christmas! Sure, Thanksgiving is great, but the kid in me falls in love with the magic of Christmas...every year.
I am thankful for that excitement. I am thankful I am not angry and bitter when I see glimpses of Christmas slowly creeping in. Christmas fills my heart with love and my soul with joy. Christmas lights up the faces of my children, and floods their home with wonder and imagination. How can one, in a season of thankfulness, be so displeased with this?
Today my mind is preoccupied, but I will remind myself of every little thing I am thankful for.

Healthy, active, present kids *they come up more than once
A hard-working, loving, loyal husband
A dog whom we consider a big part of our family
A sturdy, safe home
Plenty of food
The funds to pay every bill
A hot cup of coffee every morning
New slippers for my chilly feet
A warm shower
The ability to provide new clothes, shoes, and coats for my kids
My family whom lives nearby
The fact that I got to see the mountains this year
2 fully-functioning cars
Patience, even if it's in short supply some days
Friends who make me smile and listen to me ramble
Straws. I love straws.
Lotion, to help my hands that are always washing sippy cups
A cell phone to keep me connected to every thing you can image
Changing seasons, mainly changing from summer
Photographs, so I can relive so many moments of my fast-growing children's lives
Laughter, it makes the day better
Chocolate, it also makes the day better
Arts and crafts, big or small, I can use my brain in new and different ways
A new fence that makes me feel secure
The fact that my trash gets picked up every week, all I do is haul it out to the curb
Hairbands, my hair is always in my way
My childhood lovey, "Baby-baby", it's a miracle she's still around
Lorelai, in all her quirky glory
Adalaide, in all her unique messiness
A washing machine and dryer, enough said
Electricity, in every way
Kind words, society has a problem with this lately
My health, though am I not (in a lot of ways) in perfect shape, I most thankful I am around to appreciate all these things...and more

This Thanksgiving season I am even thankful for the early holly and jingle bells, why the heck not? Go with it. ;)


M.LEWIS

Take 2...Sort of

Last night I wrote a pretty long post.
Nothing too terribly special, but I went over our vacation, Halloween, and Phoebe's recent health issues. Then, somehow, the browser shut down and nothing was saved.

So that was frustrating.

Today, I will skip all that stuff and just say: vacation was great, we all miss Estes Park; Halloween was rushed, but went pretty good; and Phoebe gave us all a scare, but she is doing just fine now.

I intended to write more, I want to write more, but my head feels like it's going to pop. 80° today and 50° tomorrow means a large, powerful cold front that is pumping my sinuses full of pressure, and therefore, pain. So, sorry dear friends, I will return later with no headache and a fully functioning browser. Thanks ;)


M.LEWIS