A Grateful Heart

Today is Thanksgiving, a day to spend with family and friends….a day for eating…..and a day to be thankful.

This week I received some news that has my heart hurting and so today, I am especially grateful for my family and my friends.

I am reflecting today on the things that mean the most to me, the things that have shaped who I am and the people who have entered my life, for a short time or forever.

I am thankful for each person who taught me something, understood my hearts joy and pain, challenged me to step outside by comfort zone, made me laugh, made me cry, and everything else in between.

I am thankful for the good times and the difficult times in my life…those times have made me who I am today.

I am thankful that I had a few years with my mom, the one who adopted me and taught me so much about life, but mostly to love unconditionally.

I am thankful that I have now found my birth family and have the answers I searched for, whether I liked the answers or not.

I am thankful for my friends, old and new, spread across the country….for the talks, the shopping, the laughs, the walks, and all the things we shared in the past and share now.

I am thankful for our expanded family through the marriage of our son and thankful for our daughter-in-love.

I am thankful that this shy guy asked this girl out on a date in high school and that through all the ups and downs, he has stood by my side, sometimes carried me, and been my biggest supporter.  I am one lucky girl!

And I am thankful for my boys, the greatest gifts I have ever received!  My love for them is unconditional and they give me purpose.

And today, more than any other in the past, I am so very grateful for the internet and the ability to communicate quickly with many and thankful that through messaging, phone calls, and texting, old friends could come together, despite the miles between us and comfort and support each other through a difficult time.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  Today, hug your loved ones a little tighter and tell them what they mean to you…….I am hugging my family tight today, near and far.