This is the final installment of the 30 Days of thankfulness. My intent wasn’t to do the typical “I’m thankful for….” posts but to dive a bit deeper. Not sure I accomplished what I set out to do as I wasn’t even able to actually do 30 posts. Work and life have this tendency to get in the way of my intentions, but it got me back into the writing saddle and for that I am grateful. It has been a rough year with mom dying and learning to adjust to life without her so I’m pretty happy just to be back at the keyboard again.
I’ve had a tough week with being sick. Most of the time I didn’t get out of my pajamas except once to do some laundry and shower because after so many days of this creeping crud I needed it. Tomorrow I am back to work and looking forward to it, I miss my job and my residents. I don’t do sitting around very well. I need to be busy and busy usually means doing for someone else. I’ll be very happy to go back to work.
Today I am just thankful for modern medicine, including doctors, drugs and the marvels of old fashioned chicken noodle soup. I’m on the mend and feeling a lot better than I did 5 days ago.
I’m not one to want to rush time but I have to say I’ll be thankful to get these holidays underway and have them experienced and past me. I love this time of year, even though it is tough at moments because mom isn’t here to enjoy them with us. We had discussed it all and she wanted us to LIVE, enjoy, embrace and celebrate everything. Remember her but make new memories and keep on relishing life as fully as possible. I cannot imagine not doing this, it would be crazy not too do these things because I am still alive and breathing and have so much more to do and give of myself before it is my turn to go. When I do I plan to die empty, having given all of me to make others lives better. The past 7 months have flown by and I have much to be grateful for, my life is richly blessed. The coming year is full of adventure and I’ve seen a sneak peak, I know it is going to be great. In later posts I’ll go into this in more detail but change is on the horizon of my landscape of life and I cannot wait!
My younger grandkids won’t remember Gigi, but we will keep her memory alive in all we share with them. “Gigi used to say…..” and through pictures. While they won’t have their own memories, they will know her through ours and oh what an amazing person for them to know! I’m so thankful for my mom, all she taught me, every hug, tear, laugh we shared over the course of my lifetime with her. I can only strive to be half the person she was in the hopes that I can deeply touch and make better the lives of others in her honor, as she did for so many while she walked this earth.
Love you, mom, miss you so very much. Thank you for blessing my life for 55 years, I pray you enjoying the eternal rewards of a deep faith and love for God.
Marti Gardner 