Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving and another year to look back on to remember all there is to be thankful for. I will forever be thankful for the support of family in the down times of the year. I am thankful for the three beautiful children that make everyday special with the new things they've learned or the crazy things they think to say. I am thankful for 12 years of marriage and headed for that lucky 13. I am thankful that my children were able to spend time with their great-grandpa before he passed away, and even though it hurts and they still miss him, that they were able to feel that bond before it was too late. I am thankful that in todays downward spiraling economy that both my husband and I have really good jobs, and even though there is never enough money it seems, that we have a nice house and heat for the long winter ahead of us. I am thankful for the friends I have grown closer to over this past year. Friends that make me laugh, make me look back and think of things that have passed, and friends that will be there to support and listen to me. I am thankful that I live in this country, with it's flaws and debateable government theories, I am thankful that I have the freedom to choose. I am thankful that my baby brother is proudly serving his country over in Iraq and now Afghanistan, and I am thankful that he has the ability to communicate to us while he is over there and that he has been safe and will be coming home soon. I am thankful everyday that I wake up that I am alive and well, and that I have another day to make another moment to be thankful for, another moment to make another person smile and to bring happiness to those who bring happiness to me.

The Giving Moment

Some say that it's the little things that make us who we are. Tthe little things that happen, the little things we notice, the brief moments in time that shape who we are and what we believe. Not just what we believe in, but what we hope for, and what we set our dreams on, who we are at the base of our soul. It's the little moments that are so meaningful at the time they occur, those brief moments that touch our heart, and we think we'll never forget that moment, and how we felt in that moment. You hope you can alwasy remember that moment as clear tomorrow and next year as you felt it when it happened today. Today I had that moment. That heart touching, tear inducing, bring me back down to earth and face reality moment. Today, I was at the coffee shop, which I am at 5 days a week about 3 times a day, but today was different. Today was Maryanne, the owners, birthday, and she is a great person, but "the moment" was when I walked into the coffee shop and stepped up to the counter to see her hugging Dave. This is the moment... Dave is this elderly gentleman, who is there at the coffee shop almost as often as I am. I have heard his stories as I've passed through, and it really shames me to say that I've ignored him, although I've nodded and said hello, I've never talked to Dave, even though Dave says hello to everyone. You see, Dave is the homeless man that sits in the coffee shop drinking ice water in the summer to stay out of the heat, and coffee in the winter to stay out of the cold. Dave is Maryanne's customer. He may not always be able to pay, he may not always order something other than a glass of water, but Dave listens. Dave hears things. And today, today Dave took 95 cents out of his 35mm film container and bought Maryanne a slice of apple spice cake for her birthday. Dave didn't buy himself a breakfast muffin. He didn't save it for half a sandwich at lunch. Dave may not always get a meal, and may not know when he can get the next one when he does get a meal, but today was Maryanne's birthday, and today Dave spent his money on her. I walked into the coffee shop today to see Maryanne giving him a hug, with a tear in her eye, and to see the little piece of birthday cake. I knew, and Maryanne knew, that Dave had given just about everything that he had for someone that he thinks of as a friend. Dave gave something to her that wasn't just a piece of cake, he gave it all except for the few pennies he had leftover. And he gave me something. He gave me the gift of just witnessing someone give everything that they have for another. How many times can you really say that you have witnessed an act so generous? How many times? I can't remember any other time that I have witnessed such a self-less and giving act. It was an act so small, yet so kind and so full of meaning that I cannot even begin to express everything I felt in that moment. Dave gave everything in a piece of birthday cake. Everything that makes my heart feel heavy with shame for not respecting him more as a person, and yet light as a feather for knowing that this type of generosity still exists, that there is hope for me as a person to be the kind of person I saw today in Dave. Dave gave Maryanne an absolutely perfect birthday gift. And I know that Maryanne will treasure the memory of that gift, and I know that I will treasure the memory. And I only hope that in a week or month or years from know that when I look back, I can feel that moment as strongly as I felt it today. Because that type of moment, that moment, will help me be a better person, and I don't ever want to forget that moment.