Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

It is 8 AM, and I am sitting on a kitchen barstool watching the ocean waves roll into the shore from my view at the house we are staying in at the Outer Banks. I am here with my family, (daughters, niece, sister, brother-in-law, and mom) for the Holiday until Sunday. This stay was a gift, from my sister and brother-in-law to my mother for her birthday last May. I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my MY whole family since I can't remember when. One of the arrangements of my divorce agreement was that my girls would spend Thanksgiving with their father, but they would always spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with me. The fact that they are with me, is more than enough to be thankful for, but to be here in this lovely home, looking at the beuty of the ocean is like winning the Thanksgiving lottery.
I am especially glad that we are all together this year, because after this year, things will be different. My oldest is a senior in high school, and next year she will be in college. Thanksgiving will mean something different next year. My plans will center around her homecoming.
I am especially thankful for this wonderful gift because it affords me the freedom of just relaxing. Something I haven't done in QUITE some time. My life is filled with rushing here and there, being in this place by that time. I don't take the time very often to just stop. Stop to realize just how much I have to be thankful for.
The house we are staying in is right on the beach. Last night as we finished dinner, the moon had risen up over the ocean. We went out on the deck to look at it. The picture was amazing! The light of the moon cast this beautiful shimmering band across the water. The sky was clear except for a few thin clouds around the moon. It was the kind of thing you look at, and you think that it can't be real, that all of a sudden, someone will yell, "CUT" and they will roll the backdrop away. But it was real, and it made me stop and just think about how lovely the world really is if I would just STOP and notice once in a while.
I am so blessed. We all are, but we let life sweep us away with the mad dash of our schedules, and work, and "Carrot Cakes", okay that last one was for me, and we don't take the time to notice, let alone give thanks. There is a scene in the movie, The Blindside, where "Big Mike" has been invited to stay with the Tuohy family for Thanksgiving. The entire family is watching the "Big Game" and Leanne calls the family in when the spread is set. They all rush in, grab a plate and rush back to the sofa to continue to watch the game, all except for "Mike". Leanne looks in her dining room and sees Mike sitting at the table eating alone. She, of course, promptly calls all the rest of the family in to eat with their guest. The Tuohys who have everything, are a lot like many of us, certainly thankful, but in a rush, not sitting down to take the time. Mike, who has NOTHING isn't taking the huge meal or the fact that he is not alone for granted. Be Mike today. Take the time to enjoy all the things you have in your life and be thankful. It IS called THANKSgiving.