THURSDAY'S THOUGHT

Grandkids are adorable! I'll get that out of the way right now. We love all of our grandkids so much it hurts!! BUT . . . when one of them calls and asks Grampaw if he was a Pilgrim!!!!!

Thought I would laugh til I cried!

She's in pre-school and this has been on her mind since before Thanksgiving when it was discussed in class. I guess that the concept of time and age haven't kicked in yet.

Grampaw did not seem to think it was nearly as funny as I did!

I wonder when she'll ask if Betsy Ross and I were good friends???

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Yes, it's Thanksgiving - at least for about another half-hour! We've just had a lazy day here around the house. Baked a chicken with all the traditional goodies - and ate enough to last us for at least a few days!

Started me thinking about Thanksgivings from my childhood. I remember driving from Charlotte to Durham to my Grandmothers' house for Thanksgiving dinner for years and years. Boy, could that lady cook!

There was always a turkey AND a ham. Mashed potatoes AND yams - both grown in her garden. Pecan and pumpkin pies - again from pecan trees in her yard and pumpkin vines in her garden. Green beans, corn and whatever other veggies she had either canned or frozen at their peak! And the cookies! There were probably at least 6 or 8 different kinds of cookies. Cakes made from scratch and banana pudding to die for!!

Once the table was set, we had better be dressed up - no jeans and tee-shirts at her dining room table - and spotlessly clean! That table would be groaning under the weight of all that food! The five in our family, Grandma & Grandpa, and anyone else who showed up were fed until we couldn't walk!

Once everything was cleaned up and put away - except the pies, cakes, pudding and cookies - most everyone would settle down in the "sun room" to watch football - between the warmth of the company and the warmth of the room, we rarely saw more than the first couple of plays . . . but we sure did get some good naps!

That was in the late 1950's and early 1960's. I hope there are still families out there doing it that way now. It was only a two hour drive back then. Our nearest son is 4 1/2 hours away - daughter is almost 8 hours and our other son is 9 hours! I guess that's what we get for living so far away. Ahhh, but we make up for it at other times of the year. We invade them and spoil the grandkids like crazy!

It's almost Thanksgiving!!

Yep, I guess I'm just about as happy as this doggie! I know the economy is in a total mess. I know everyone is worried about jobs. I know we're all concerned about how we're going to pay for Christmas. The housing market stinks. I know a lot of us are worried about how the new president is going to handle things. I know that there are so very many things happening right now that could make this the worst year ever for all of us.

But, I choose to look at it from a different direction. I have four walls and a roof over my head. It's not a huge estate - but it IS a pretty decent home.

My children are grown, pretty happy and are all able to take care of themselves and their own families.

I have electricity 24/7! Not like some 3rd world countries where it's only on for a couple of hours a day.

The gas prices around here are down to only $1.73/gallon!!! I can afford to fill up my 2001 SUV without having to take out a loan!

I have a grocery store a few miles from home where there is always food on the shelves - and I can usually come up with enough money to buy enough food to feed my husband and myself - - and the rat terriers - - and the sugar glider!

We can drive from the Atlantic to the Pacific without once having to show and ID just because we want to cross a state border!

Yep, I'd say I'm pretty happy right where I am. Things could always be lots better of course - but I don't think they are so bad, are they?

On this day of thanks - let's all try to find all of those positive things in our lives and be as thankful as possible for these happy, happy things!