Thankful Thursdays

Coming to you today from the Black Hills of South Dakota. I am grateful for some down time, roaming with the buffalo. 🦬 😬

Nothing like some time outdoors with Nature to refocus. Expressing gratitude for what is, rather than worrying about what isn’t, is what I’m practicing right now. I hope this practice will travel back home with me.

Meanwhile, as we mothers get ready to be celebrated this Sunday, I give thanks for mine. The powerhouse of a woman she was and everything she taught me, and for her example of strength, faith and unconditional love. I also thank God for the most amazing gift I’ve ever received and will ever receive – Lauren and Daniel.

Once again, I leave you with an excerpt of a little piece I wrote a few years ago about being their mom:

                                              E-Ticket, Please
Of all the blessings the good Lord has showered upon me, I would have to say motherhood tops the list, hands down. What a ride!

The fears and anxieties, the illnesses, the surgeries, the pain, the worrying and sleepless nights, the anger, the attitudes, the expectations, the failures, disappointments, and frustrations… all intertwined with the joy, the excitement, the achievements, the celebrations, the humor and the fun, the touching, the sharing, the loving and the caring… I could go on and on…. Sometimes making me want to speed up time, sometimes making me want to slow it down. Phew!!

Yes, it is exhausting. Through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of motherhood, I have experienced things and felt emotions on a level I cannot possibly explain to you. Except I can tell you that I would not trade any of it. I cannot envision, nor do I want to, life without my children. Come what may. I cannot thank God enough for this blessing He has bestowed upon me. May He always catch me with my seatbelt on tight while on this, my E-ticket ride.
[first posted 5/8/09; published 2013 in Scenes Everlasting and Other Essays]

Wishing all the moms, grandmas, aunts, and godmothers a very happy Mother’s Day today and always.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
-Epictetus 

“(24/7) once you sign on to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer.”
-Jodi Picoult

So many national park adventures with the kids!