Gratitude #60

I am grateful for my siblings.  This is one of the last pictures taken of all five of us.  It was taken at my sister's 50th anniversary celebration and she and my brother are trying to sneak bunny ears into the picture.  We always laugh when we are together.  I have so many reasons to be grateful to them all.

Ruby (with the corsage) is the oldest and has in many ways been like a second mother to me.  I was 22 when my mother died and Ruby was the one I would ask the kind of things you would ask your Mom when you are first married and when you become a parent.  I remember the first time I hosted a holiday for the family, she showed up early to make sure I had things under control.  I told my husband that the rest of the siblings probably urged her to do that just to make sure "the baby" hadn't taken on more than she could handle.

Millie (with the big smile between me and Ruby) is the second child.  I think she is the most like my Dad and I adore her like I adored my Dad.  She is very quiet but very funny.  She has a great perspective on life and I have learned so much from her.  She probably has more common sense than anyone else I know.

Raymond (in the back) is the oldest boy and has always looked out for all of us.  I owe him and his family a huge amount.  My parents moved when I was ready to start high school.  After I started school, we discovered the school system was not the best and was behind the one we had moved from.  My brother and sister-in-law let me stay with them to go to a better school and I will forever be grateful.  

Melvin (in the front) was the only sibling that was still at home when I was born.  He was twelve years older than me and I have such wonderful memories of my big brother.  Today would have been his birthday.  He passed away last September and I miss him everyday.  I really miss him today.

The last week of February was always a busy one when I was growing up.  My parents' anniversary was the 24th; Melvin's birthday the 25th; mine the 26th and my mother's the 27th.  I am the only one left and it feels very lonely today.

Gratitude #59

I am grateful for my parents and the lessons they taught me.  My Mom and Dad were married on February 24, 1929.  This picture was taken around 1968 which makes my Mother younger in this picture than I am now.  I think she looks older than I do.  I am not sure if that is wishful thinking or because her hair is white or the kind of life she had.  The Great Depression hit the first year my parents were married; they then had 3 children in the next 4 years and moved several times for my Dad to find work.  Their lives always revolved around children.  My oldest sister was born 18 months after they were married and my Dad died 3 weeks after I graduated from high school.  They never had much, they had been married 39 years before they owned their own home.  There were no big vacations, no fancy cars. My Mom sewed our clothes, canned food from our garden, my Dad kept our cars running, built the home they finally owned, built the camper we used for vacations, repaired everything we had that could be repaired.

They did not have any of the things that today's society considers the trappings of success.  They did have love, happiness, friends and raised 5 children who think they were the best parents in the world.  After I was on my own and they were gone, I realized how little we had growing up, but I never once felt deprived and I think that is a pretty good testimony to my parents.  I am so grateful for that.

Gratitude #'s 55-58

I have so many things to be grateful for in my life.  Some of them are so common place that I tend to overlook them.  I was thinking yesterday about my many blessings and trying to decide which ones I would include in my list in my 60 things while I am 60.  I have covered the biggies - friends, my husband, my kids, my grand kids, my job - but there are so many others that I decided to list some of the little things that make me smile.

Coffee, sunshine on snow, a good book, the smell of oranges, drinks with friends at the end of the week, a diet vanilla coke from Sonic, coming home to dinner in the crock pot, a jigsaw puzzle, a crossword puzzle, the smell of sheets dried outside, flowers for no reason, playing games with friends.  

These are just a few of the things that make me smile.

Gratitude #54

Today I am grateful for help with snow removal. 

We went out so I could clear the driveway and he could play and he asked to use the shovel.

He kept at it until we had the job done. 

I am sure we will remind him of this when he is 16.

We built a very small snowman when we were done.  The snow was really too dry to pack well and we were cold.  But he was very proud of this little guy.

Gratitude #53

I was reviewing my year of gratitude (60 before my 61st birthday) and discovered I had not listed how grateful I was for selling our rental home, but I am.

Gratitude # 52

I am so grateful Tito and I get to spend so much time with our grandsons.  They live close by, Tito takes care of Kaiden 2 days a week, we see them almost every weekend.  We know we are blessed to be such a part of their lives.

Gratitude 50 and 51

 I am grateful that we were able to get away for a long weekend in the beautiful mountains and grateful to Vivien and Gary who are so generous to share their condo with us.