In this season of Thanksgiving it is easy to look around and see what is right in front of us that deserves some gratitude. Recently though, it came to my attention (one of the sane voices in my head finally grabbed the gavel during a “committee” meeting) that there are some thanks that are long overdue…. so this is dedicated to my mom:

Thank you for teaching me how to read maps. I was rather ungracious at the time, but it has saved me over and over and over again. I really like knowing where I am! <grin>

Thank you for driving not only me, but the groom’s best friend to Tennessee on the spur of the moment so that I could stand up for my best friend (we were both 16) who was eloping, when she got married the next day at the Justice of the Peace.

Thank you for staying up late at night, after a hard day on your feet working retail, to sew clothes for me so that I could have the material I wanted on the style I wanted, because “Bethany’s mom sews HER clothes”…. never mind that your retail work was in a children’s clothing store that you OWNED and I had my pick of any top-of-the line clothes in the store.

Thank you for never missing a swim meet.

Thank you for holding down the fort at home during dad’s problems, all the while being treated like a criminal (by me) because I thought he was the hero and you were the mean one.

Thank you for finding a way to give me the best opportunities even though we didn’t have a lot of money (Culver, college, etc)

Thank you for somehow managing to put a family vacation together every year, no matter what.

Thank you for always going the extra mile for holidays, even the ‘smaller’ ones – holiday plates and napkins, greeting cards, etc. My love of holidays comes directly from you.

Thank you for giving me a job, which turned into a career, when I was essentially unemployable.

Thank you for a love of reading.

Thank you for saving my children from a life in the system.

Thank you for teaching me the value of a well-written (and timely) thank-you note (even though this one isn’t so timely).

Thank you for loving me when I was quite unlovable.

Happy Thanksgiving Mom. I love you 🙂