The Lost Holiday

Wolverine defeats Vader on Beggar's Nite

Now that Halloween (see pics of my kids plz) is behind us, stores are really gearing up for the next big one. Thanksgiving! Ha! Just kidding. Poor turkey-day. No hoopla. No respect. Let's just get to the PRESENTS. We're such an ungrateful nation at times...

It seems once we reach a certain age, a few us will boast Thanksgiving as our favorite holiday–those who don't have to prepare a turkey or host guests anyway. What's not to love? A

Madhatter on Ghoul's Day.

day off to indulge! A day when gluttony is not only acceptable, but championed! A holiday when NO ONE can be upset about the gifts they did or did not receive. It's merely a day to be thankful. Speaking of thanks...

Oprah surveyed a few of her writers on gifts they had received in the past. (Noticed how I brushed through the holiday of thanks myself...on to Christmas!) It got me to thinking, what gifts was I most thankful for? Oh gosh...Let me preface: only child. Received many, many great gifts as a child. One gift that really stands out for me was a race car track. Yep. A race car track. Now, I was my Mommy's girl. We shopped. We read Little House on the Prairie together–every single book in the series. And despite the Bionic Woman Barbie, the pink fur coat, and the fancy Frye boots, the race car track gave me and my dad a reason to to hang out a bit. (I was never any good at helping him rebuild his motorcycles. My hands would get...dirty.) So, yes. The race car set. It was an interesting diversion from my normal tea party-like schedule.

So there you have it. A commentary on the lost holiday of November. But wait. What about Veterans's Day? Now there's an important holiday that way too many of us don't take the time to consider, other than to maybe shop. But maybe 11-11-11 should be more than a bunch of ones that line up together this year. Wait for another insightful post on that one.

And a happy birthday to my lovely mother. Another important November event!

Thankful

Today I put aside my typical ventilation of everyday life to express how thankful I am for my everyday life. Ashamedly, it seems to take a travesty of Haiti proportions to remind me how good I have it. So today, a simple list of gratitude:

1) the health of my family,
2) the goodness of my friends,
3) the charity of my community,
4) the faith in my heart

Those are the big-hitters. Of course, I'm thankful for much, much more, but I'd sell everything I had to keep what's listed above.

To help the victims of the Haitian earthquake, visit the Red Cross website.

http://www.redcross.org/

God Bless.

Oh Happy Days

Despite the lack of sunshine in Southwest Iowa and the fact that my hubby can't get his beans harvested, I am happy. Why you ask?

1-Saw Where the Wild Things Are last night. It was beautiful, a bit heart-wrenching and it made me cry. I love those movies.
2-Received a letter stating I had won "Honorable Mention" in Writer's Digest 78th Annual Writing Competition! And my story (Diamonds in the Woods) will be published with the group of winners and honorable mentions. I'm pretty darn excited about that one. I posted on my other blog a few months ago. Here's the link.
3-The Hawkeyes are undefeated! Certainly, we Hawkeye fans know that we must tread lightly, thus the glass might break.
4-Shrek (you know, the ugly feral cat whose tongue doesn't fit in his mouth?) allowed me to scratch his mangy ears this morning. That seals it. I am the cat whisperer. What do you suppose that say about my personality? I'd prefer to be known as a dog whisperer, but we are what we are.
5-Lastly, and of course, not anywhere close to least...my family and friends are the beautiful and loving.

TTFN