26 November

Giving Thanks



Tauzer is Thankful that she has a playmate. While Will is at work, and since I work from home, we get to baby sit Will’s new puppy while she grows a larger bladder. Tauzer is also Thankful that “Salem” goes home at the end of the day!

What I’m Thankful For (the condensed list)…

1. My Health. This one is a gimme. Exactly nine years ago today I was laying in a hospital bed at the University of Washington Medical

 Center for 30+ days after my first round of being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). This is a girl who has never-ever spent more than 48 hours indoors! The caring nurse brought me my “Thanksgiving Dinner” tray of semi-traditional fare –though the “turkey” didn’t really resemble the turkey we always enjoyed, it was more of a Spam-Turkey combo and not very tasty to say the least. I’m Thankful I’m in full remission and approaching the magic 10-year good statistic mark. To this day I cook a HUGE real turkey whether there are two or  twenty of us and toast “To Turkey Not Spurkey!”

2. My Husband. I’m Thankful we still like

 each other enough to hug and kiss every day. We are partners and are happy to be the best of friends. He’s a wonderful provider and he’s such a good father and mentor. I’m proud of him and would marry him all over again. I’m embarrassed to say that he’s so easy going I sometimes take him for granted. A customer came to the house to pick up a special order on Monday and shared with me that her husband was recently killed in an accident. I was so surprised and saddened for her loss, yet I was so thankful for my husband that I have been thinking about all of his qualities non-stop the last two days.

3. My Family. Yes, families can be difficult sometimes, yet our family is filled with so much love, happiness and opportunities that I am truly Thankful. Our kids are smart and healthy and they are growing up to be their own person, the transformations seems weird to me –where did the time go?! On Tuesday my sister and her daughter surprised us with a homemade pumpkin pie! They took the time to come over to the house and we all visited for hours –because of our cris-crossing schedules we haven’t been able to connect for the last couple of months though we live in the same city. Being nurses my sister and her husband are both working today at the hospital and I’m Thankful for the love and care she and her husband give to very sick patients and their families. I’m even Thankful for my former husband. We saw each other at Great Harvest Bread Company on Tuesday and gave each other a big hug –though we also live near one another, we hadn’t seen each other in a few months and it was good to chat, laugh and see that we both were buying fresh yummy bread for friends and family for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Yes, I’m Thankful for many more things because I feel I have a very good life. I work hard, play hard, I am optimistic and try to be a good wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend and a good steward of the earth. There are so many things to be Thankful for. On this Thanksgiving Holiday what are you Thankful for?

10 comments:

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Thankful for? On the simplest level, thankful for such a sunny and mild day (wow!), but more than that my sweet wife is the best person to be with everyday and all the dogs and cats, and they make it possible to be an artist and for that I am SUPER GRATEFUL.
Esp. grateful to have gotten to know many more like minded creative bloggers such as yerself too :)
Cute puppy!

SunShine said...

I have been enjoying lurking on your blog for some time. Your sculptures are incredible!! You have much to be grateful for indeed and I love your upbeat positive attitude! I love my life and feel spoiled at times for the endless things I have to be grateful for. : ) Happy Thanksgiving, Cindy!

Anonymous said...

I'm thankful for many things very similar to yours, love, life and health. I'm also thankful for finding friends that live thousands of miles away and we are able to share our lives and out talents with each other. I never thought my little blog would help me find the most amazing people that I have found. I just hope someday we can meet, hug and share our lives in person.

Tracey Broome said...

Thankful: I think of course family has to be first on the list, also thankful that I have finally found something that holds my attention for more than a day! My mom was always saying to me "you never finish anything you start" well by God, I do now! Nice post, well said!! Glad you have good health now :)

ang design said...

wow cute pooch....sure to be a handful, and good on you for beating the 'leuk'..happy TG tile to you..

Peter said...

Wife that still loves me, a cat that cuddles me, family, friends, a wood fired kiln or two, a roof over the head, a town where people give me a wave and a smile. And all that is for starters! There is a lot to be thankful for when you pause, draw breath, and really think about it! A big thank you to you for your blog, and your thoughtful, and inspiring posts.
Happy Thanksgiving (belated, but I'm sure you'll not mind giving thanks on more than one day a year!)

cookingwithgas said...

Wow Cindy- you once again surprise me in so many ways.
What a great post, you are so giving.
Health, family, friends and love- art, pottery, sunsets and sunrise, clouds, trees, water, butterflies,flowers,food, and life- life it's self which hands you ups and downs so that when you get an up you can breath it in.
Thanks, you made me smile.
And here's to you and yours from my house to yours!

Orion Designs said...

What a wonderful post. There's a lot to be thankful for indeed.

I'm thankful for Rick, who still loves me even though I can be hard on him sometimes. I'm thankful for my Xena, the wonder Bouvier. And also for my cute little cabin of a home.

Have a great weekendn Cindy!

Julia said...

Your lovely post of thankfulness brought tears to my eyes. I, too, am thankful for my (long-suffering) husband, my amazing son, for great in-laws (who are also my next door neighbors), for turkeys (that are still alive), for chickens and bees and clay. But most of all, I'm grateful to have a chance to live a creative life surrounded by people who love and support me (in person and in cyberspace).

Patricia Griffin Ceramics said...

I'm thankful for having just spent the last three days with family, all gathered at our home and cherishing our time together. Every bedroom of the house was filled and air mattresses in the living room too. My face hurts from laughing and talking so much.

Loved your thoughtful post and could relate to your feelings about your spouse. I feel the same about my very good-natured husband. I've got so much to be grateful for.