First of all, I must thank all of you who have read my blog and given me encouragement to keep writing.  I certainly didn’t start out as a writer….A few years ago, my sister Georgie gave me several letters that I had written to her when I was between seven and nine years old.  What spelling!  What grammar!  I can tell you, they were not very good, but I’m going to publish them  in “My Life Story” which I’m working on. FYI.

Secondly, I am so thankful to be healthy. There a couple of minor parts of my body that are giving in to time, but for the most part, I am not complaining and my daughter Colleen thinks I talk far less occasionally about my ailments than I did before I started writing this blog. As documented on my road trip with Ruth to Whitefish, MT, the two of us had no problem golfing five days in a row.  I do believe in doing, not sitting, although sitting is for writing!

I was so lucky to inherit good genes. There has been cancer (and what family hasn’t been spared from that?) and Parkinson’s disease in my family, but we have no history of diabetes, heart disease or other lifetime affecting problems. Knock on wood.

I am also extremely thankful to have four of the best kids a Mom could ask for!  Kind, considerate, loving, helpful, responsible all.  Although my husband, Doc, was gone when our youngest was 14, he was so instrumental in them all growing up to be really good people.  I have been lucky to have grandchildren who are generous with hugs and always saying, “I love you Grammo”.

Even though it was necessary for our livelihood that I worked outside the home all my married years, I am thankful that I did!  I always needed a challenge. And even if Doc was not physically capable of many things, he knew how it should be done and if we listened to him, we could accomplish many tasks.  I wasn’t always that smart.

Thankful for friends is an understatement for me.  I truly love my friends and some of my best friends are from almost 60 years ago, and there are some I have recently met.  Kids and grandkids live busy lives and certainly don’t want to go golfing at eight in the morning like my friends do! A big thank you goes out to Bob and Anne and family for a friendship that has lasted all these years. Their hospitality is second to none and I will be enjoying brunch at their home today. Congratulations go out to Bob and Anne as it is their 35th wedding anniversary!

Lastly, I give thanks to Ruth’s daughter, Anna, for inviting me for Thanksgiving dinner last evening.  I lost count of the number of people there as some grandchildren came and went because they were playing in a hockey tournament.  I am sure there were at least 20.  I love it when there is a “new recipe” on the menu.  Everything was delicious.