Thanksgiving

I had intended to post on Thanksgiving, but it was a little busy, then came work and that was that. So here's my Thanksgiving musing.

There are many things that I'm thankful for, my Aunts for being there when I need them, my Daughter Michele, just for being herself and loving me unconditionally, my Son Robert, for being a wonderful son, father and husband, a good man. Thank you to my Daughter-in-law, Lisa for being a good wife and mother, and for being a roll model of strength and determination. I'm grateful for my Grandchildren, they are turning into wonderful people with loads of potential. I'm grateful that I have a job that I can find pleasure and satisfaction in. I'm grateful for my co-workers. I enjoy the people I meet on the job, especially the little children. They are a delight!

There are always the "little" things that I'm thankful for every day. The many beautiful sunrises and sunsets that I see daily, the view of the Great Salt Lake when I'm traveling to and from work. There was a huge, nearly full moon on Thanksgiving, beautiful. When I left for work the next morning, I looked up at the western sky, and there it was, getting ready to set, poised between the rosy glow of sunrise and the darker sky of night, really wonderful.

I bought something new on meditation recently. I've often thought of buying a book by Sharon Saltzberg, who writes about Loving Kindness and Insight meditation. She has a kit out, sold by Sounds Easy called "Unplug". It consists of an instuction booklet, idea cards and 2 CDs. On the CDs she walks you through meditations. Unlike many I've tried, she gives you periods of silence where you can count your breath and really get a feel to meditation. She really has you count, brethe in, and out, one and then breathe in, out, two and so on to ten and start over. If you get distracted, start again with one. She says not to judge any thought, just think of it as "not breath"and start again, being very gentle with yourself. So far, I'm quite impressed.

Just Musing

Our kick off the holidays event at work is over. It seemed to go quite well. People were pretty receptive, for the most part. It was a lot of work, but also pretty fun. We were set up in pairs in order to keep the demos open and serving all day. It had the advantage of giving us someone to talk to during slower times, getting to know a co-worker better. Our customers were a little surprised at the fancy dishes we provided. They seemed to enjoy themselves. Even with the fun, I'm glad this event only comes once a year. Boy was I tired!

Today is my Son's birthday. He occupies a special place in our family. Not only is he my first-born, he is also the first grandchild born on my maternal side and he was also born on my Aunt's birthday. She feels he's part hers, I think. Bob is a wonderful son, everything a mother could want but for one thing. He and his family live in Vancouver, WA and I live in UT and I miss him. I miss them all, my Daughter-in-Law, and my Granddaughter and 2 Grandsons. I certainly wish for Bob to have a great day today and a wonderful year.


The weather around here is pretty strange this year. The last 2 days were of record breaking warmth and today it's cold again, we may even have snow, though the storm doesn't seem to have a lot of moisture. That seems to be the problem this last year or so, not enough water.
Utah frequently has unpredictable weather, but it seemd to be a bit more so recently. Maybe global warming? Could be.

Dates of Note

November is a busy month for me. Today is my Daughter's birthday. Next week is my Son's birthday, plus my Aunt's birthday as well. Also next week, is Thanksgiving. This week will also be busy due to a big promotional event that my company holds every year the weekend before Thanksgiving. As I've probably mentioned, I am food demonstrator. We are a bit under staffed right now. We have to stay on the floor, serving from 10AM to 6PM for all three days. As we are short people to relieve for lunches and breaks, we will operate in tandem, 2 people working 2 demos together and covering both demos for breaks and lunches. It will be a little tricky, but should work.

My daughter will be 41 today, I think. I don't always pay attention to my kid's ages, then I have to pay attention to my own. Michele won't mind my giving away her age though. She doesn't pay attention to things like that. In fact, she had forgotten her birthday herself. She was too busy looking forward to "turkey day". Michele is my handicapped child. She is mentally disabled and also has some autistic behaviors. She has been able to live in a supervised apartment and work in a sheltered workshop enviornment for about 14 years or so. She's managed, with her staff, to build a life of her own, for which I am very grateful. She lives a fuller life than she did at home, though I'm sure she misses some of her family at times. She does spend an overnight visit with me and her Aunt every 2 weeks. Unfortunately, she hasn't seen her brother and his family for quite awhile. Hopefully, we'll remedy that sometime this next year. When I think about things to be thankful for, all the things I've learned from my children and greandchildren are high on my list.

Time and Money

It seems like so many of our problems link back to either time or money or both. Last year, I worked full time during the last quarter of the year for the Holidays. It worked out well because I was 15 to 20 minutes from work. This year, I am 45 minutes from work, gas prices are on the rise again, and I recieved two raises, putting my social security in some jeopardy. I decided to work 4 days per week, thinking that an extra day per week wouldn't put me at too high a salary that I would have to pay soc sec back. Of course, that decision was made before the most recent upward spiral in gas prices. At this point, I'm only hoping to keep ahead of the extra miles paid for on my gas bills. Then there's the matter of time. I seem to only manage to post in my blog once per week. I've started sewing again, but I'm still finding it hard to find the time.

When I stop to think about it. I realise that I probably have plenty of time for everything if I just get organised and stop wasting time with TV and crossword puzzles. I could also save money with gas by riding the commuter bus into the city a couple of days per week. That brings up the time issue again. The schedule for the bus requires me to go into town earlier than if I drove, and coming home later. Guess I could do crossword puzzels?