More Than A Holiday...

Maybe Thanksgiving should be more than a holiday.

Maybe it should be a way of life.

It's possible that in our quest to live life to the fullest and make the most of everything we have available to us, we forget...

to be thankful for what we have.

I'm guilty.

If we are each honest with ourselves, we are all guilty.

I'm not talking about not being sad, not hurting, ignoring those feelings of anything less than happiness.

Acknowledging and dealing with those feelings is healthy, warranted and needed.

I'm talking about making that our focus.

Complaining about the long line at the checkout at the grocery store, the ridiculous drivers on the freeway cutting us off, snowy/rainy days, the government...

Annoyances.

I still complain about those things and I voice my opinion (as we all know)...

And that's okay.

But...it's also important to see the other side of the coin about those things.

Acknowledge the "yin and yang" of things in the world.

The flip side is that we have food at a store and we can go get it anytime we want, we have vehicles to carry us to wherever we want to go and we can travel feeling safe and secure in our freedom to do so, we have precipitation that allows our food to grow and our kids to play in....

I'm sure I'll think of an upside of government if given a few days. ;)

Everything has two sides...an up and a down.

And while it's okay to complain about the down, I think we should focus on the up.

I do that far more after Braden's cancer diagnosis.

One of the things going around on Facebook in November is folks posting something they are Thankful for each day in the month of November.

I love that idea and I love reading others' posts about what they are thankful for...it's enlightening and a good reminder to be appreciative of our gifts.

I once read something that said, "What if all we had tomorrow was what we thanked God for today?"

That simple phrase changed me in more ways than I can tell you.

What if....

What if every day we stopped to just be thankful...

instead of wishful....

instead of asking for...

just to be quiet with our hearts and minds and be grateful.

I took a technology break for several days last week. Few emails...I did do a few for work and medical purposes, no social media...

And I allowed myself to get "centered" again.

I spent my time simply being grateful...

As I waited for results from Braden's bone marrow aspirate which would ultimately determine if he was headed into transplant which will, without a doubt, change his quality of life if not kill him.

It was a lot to think about and I had a lot I wanted to ask for as I prayed.

But I didn't ask for anything.

I hoped....and I prayed hoping I would have strength and courage to continue to fight...

But mostly, I prayed hoping I would have strength and courage to accept....

even if I didn't want to accept what was offered to me.

Everyone who knows me knows I am a fighter...to a fault.

But somehow during that break, as I looked into my son's eyes and felt his heart, I simply needed

grace...

understanding...

and the ability to accept.

To my shock, we got good news. I was so prepared for bad news that it took me half a week, numerous emails from our teams telling me to accept it and that it was valid, and then labs yesterday to confirm it before I could accept it...

I guess I forgot that acceptance could also be acceptance of good news.

There's a whole lot of irony there.  And a whole lot of stubborn Irish genes at work as well! :)

And I give thanks for that lesson.

An attitude of gratitude...

every day....

Gratitude for:

the yin and yang, of everything...

my "people", those I call family and friends...

our daily bread...

forgiveness....

continual learning and growth...

balance...

and hope.

It takes far more strength to be thankful than to be wishful.

It's not easy and I'm certainly not perfect at it. As one of my very wise friends would say, "I'm a work in progress".

At the risk of sounding reminiscent of The Grinch in his story... ;)

maybe this holiday means a little bit more,

more than a day or a month,

maybe it should be a way of life.

Every day should be a day of giving thanks.