Thanksgiving

Another year has passed, and hopefully, I'm just a wee bit wiser. My birthday falls within a week of Thanksgiving so I might add this post is about giving thanks and gratitude.

I'm thankful for God putting up with me and be patient with me as I try to find my way through the daily journey that is life.

I am thankful for my family's constant and unwavering support. I'm grateful for each and every one of them and I should show it more. I am thankful for my few friends, both old and new (You know who you are) who have been there for me, through good times and the bad, especially the bad.

 I am thankful that I have a publisher who's been willing to publish me, even though I've been on a self-imposed publishing sabbatical for personal reasons. I'm thankful for my editors and publishers who have put up with my unique creative process. I've been inspirationally constipated for the longest time.

Now,  some people perceive what gratefulness means in terms of friendship.  Gratefulness and gratitude towards one's family and friends is a state of mind. It's about mutual respect, kindness, thoughtfulness, and consideration.

Gratefulness does not necessarily mean paying back favors though, naturally, one would want to do everything and anything to help a true friend and vice versa; it does not mean tit for tat, or I do this for you, so you should do that for me - That is no measure of gratefulness or of friendship. Gratitude or gratefulness means listening, even though  you may not agree with what is being said. It means you give the other party a chance to speak rather than dismissing them thoughtlessly. It means admitting one's  mistakes (no one is ever 100% right all of the time). It means wanting to do all you can to help whenever and where ever help is needed, no questions asked.

Gratitude towards others means appreciating people for who they are, not judging them or thinking one is always right when no one is right all the time. Gratitude is not about disparaging or mocking another person. Gratitude is about appreciating the people in your life, not taking them for granted and not taking advantage of them.

One can even have gratitude for those who have hurt oneself,  Be grateful for the lessons they have taught you. It does not matter if they don't have any remorse or guilt, forgive them anyway. They've given you an invaluable lesson. 

So this Thanksgiving, I am grateful to God, (Should make more of a concerted effort to put Him first), family, friends, and everyone who has ever taught me something.

Jeremy's Gems

Do you remember the Bill Cosby Show 'Kids Say the Darndest Things' ? Well, I would also say they do the darndest things and more. When my niece and nephews were younger they would always do and say things that would capture my imagination. Kids nowadays are a lot smarter than I used to be, that's for sure. (My 2 year old niece Ashley Flora [right] is a real fire cracker).

Read on and you'll see just what I mean.

When I was on a family holiday at a beach resort in Thailand  I spotted some bikini-clad babes basking in the sun (Well, obviously, it was a beach resort, right?). I observed from a distance. When Jeremy asked me what I was looking at, I pointed toward the beach beauties. With a shrug and a disapproving sigh, Jeremy said, "Yeah, they're pretty but when I'm a man, they'll be grandmas!"  He was only three years old at the time, believe it or not.

Aware of my family's perpetual quest to find a nice gal for me, he took it upon himself to play matchmaker on the flight home. With a glint in his eye and a cheeky grin, he attracted the attention of a flight attendant and asked,  "Do you have a boyfriend?"  My siblings chuckled uncontrollably knowing perfectly well where the direction of the conversation was headed. I slinked down in my seat and buried my face  in the in-flight sales magazine, hoping that this would blow over.

The aforementioned flight attendant was spoken for, but she invited him to the galley, and when he emerged beaming, his arms were overflowing with stuffed toys, coloring books and crayons. As he took his seat, he proudly declared: "She loves me!" Believe me, Jeremy's done a lot more classic things but I'm saving those stories for now.

So do your kids say or do the darndest things?