Happy Merry Gratitude — What's All This Buzz About....

For the last blog post of the year, I am taking a break from Death Preparedness to talk about gratitude. Part Three of Death Preparedness will be posted after Christmas.

What are you grateful for? This is the time of year when many of us reflect on the year past and look forward to the year ahead. The picture I started this blog with is of my Mom, Wanda. In that picture she was celebrating her last birthday, age 87, as she was dying from pancreatic cancer. It’s been twelve years since she died! It’s hard to believe how fast those years went. I still miss her and still have many fond, grateful memories.

I’m grateful for my Mom because she was so supportive of me and my sisters as we were growing up. Our childhood was not perfect and we had our share of childhood trauma, just like everyone else on the planet. But we knew that our Mom was there for us. My twin sister and I fell in love with horses at about age 10, and despite the fact that we were not rich kids, our Mom helped us buy a $200 pony to start our equestrian journey. She took us to horse shows in a beat up pick up truck and homemade trailer (picture Beverly Hillbillies with horses), and spent many boring hours watching us ride and praying that we would not fall and break our necks. She always told us we could do anything we wanted to do.

She got married right after the war and so did not finish her college degree at that time and started raising a family, ending up with five girls. She was a go-getter though. Once we were older, she went back to school, finished her bachelor’s degree, went on to get a master’s degree and then a PhD at age 62 in Early Childhood Education. She got her PhD the same year I got my MD! She worked in her field into her mid eighties. She continues to be such an inspiration.

She loved to travel and continued to go on photo safaris into her eighties. When she traveled she enjoyed buying a T-shirt from the locations she visited. So when she died, she had an abundance of T-shirts! I made two T-shirt quilts for me and my sister Becky as a special memory of our Mom. If you haven’t built up your collection of T shirts, you might want to start so your kids can make quilts to remember you by! Just saying.

Speaking of memory projects, I read today about a young woman in Scotland who makes teddy bears out of fabric from a loved ones clothes. They are so precious! Now I have another option! Her name is Mary Macinnes and she makes Memory Bears. Check out her Facebook page at Mary Mac.

I am also grateful for family. I have two incredibly talented, entrepreneurial adult children who I love with all my heart. They have taught me so much! My twin sister and her husband were kind enough to welcome me into their home when I decided to make a change after my husband died three years ago. Having a twin sister is a special blessing! Thank you! My four year old grandson has a special place in my heart too and I am seeing him tomorrow in Tennessee! Can’t wait to be with him, my daughter, her boyfriend, and my son and his wife! My extended family that I gained when I married my husband, continue to be an encouragement to me and I treasure their friendship! Thank you to all Sheltons, Bonsers, Ruseaus and Barrs!

And friends! I miss my friends in Virginia and am slowly making friends in Oregon. It takes time doesn’t it? I am especially grateful for my friend Leisa who checks in on me and helps me stay accountable with this blog!

And finally I am grateful to my Church and church family here in Lake Oswego. You have all been so kind and welcoming.

Enjoy your time with friends and family as the year and decade come to an end, Best warm wishes for the coming year!