This morning at 1:30 I was awakened by my dog Gunner, he needed to go outside. I am not a heavy sleeper so once I am up it is very hard to go back to sleep. More times then not when I go back to bed I end up tossing and turning, and never going back to sleep. So this morning as I climbed down the stairs my first thought was frustration, then I thought again. This moment will end and I will never have it again. Someday I will have trouble going up and down the stairs. Someday I will not have Gunner. And someday I will look back at this moment and wish I could turn back time.

Here is my post from Facebook November 25, 2016 that read ” Had a great Thanksgiving, as usual I ate to much. Shawna made me the pie I requested, pumpkin/pecan which is a combination of two of my favorites. Watched old western movies with Dad, Randal, Dave, and Hannah, and played a game of family bingo that went on throughout the day. Nothing like spending time with family!” I remember the memory and it makes today a hard one. Thanksgiving should be a day spend with family, but like so many things this year, this day will be different also. Because of COVID our family is not celebrating together. We choose faith over fear but have to be realistic. We have family members who are high risk, and we have family members just getting over COVID, and some that have been exposed. None of us can afford to get sick so as a family we decided this is the smart thing for us to do. Birthdays, Easter, and pretty much every holiday this year has been spend much in the same way.

So what is todays blessing? That we still have each other, that we can zoom, or call each other on the phone. That I now live so close to everyone that I can box up my Macarons and drop them off at the door. That today is Shawna’s Birthday, and I have been blessed to have her for 40 years. That God provides us with what we need, the day will be bighted by light, my home is warm, I will have good food to eat, water to shower, and time to reflect those blessings.

I know this year has been a difficult one for many, and it makes it hard to see what blessings we have to be thankful for. If we dig deep enough we all have them. What is the old saying is your cup half empty or half full. May each and everyone of you enjoy your day, may your cups be full, and may your blessings be many. Happy Thanksgiving.