The Silver Lining

During the month of November, I've tried to select one thing each day and give thanks for it.  The last two posts have shared some of those.  This is my third "Thankfulness" post.   I am thankful for things my daddy taught me.  Again, I could spend a year telling you why I am thankful for my daddy, but I’ll just focus on a few things I learned from him.  His love, work ethic, and sense of fairness have been a guiding beacon for my life.  He has always looked out for folks who were less fortunate than we were.  I remember him making “care packages” to send to a young man who was in training school and couldn’t be with his family at Christmas.  He taught me how to use a hammer, drill, power saw, screwdriver, and paintbrush.  I learned exactly where to put 5 water jars around every brooder in the chicken house (Becky, stop laughing!) and how to check to make sure they were level so they wouldn’t leak all the water out. I learned that I’d b...

During the month of November, I've been posting "thankful" posts each day of November.  Here are the posts from November 11-20.   I am thankful for sunshine.  Early dawn mornings, when the eastern sky begins to lighten from nighttime to gray, I know that soon the sun will cast its first brilliant beams into the world, bringing all the colors with it.  On chilly days, I love to find a sunny spot so I can feel the warmth upon my skin.   The sunshine hits the trees; in the vaults of my mind I recall an elementary school science lesson about photosynthesis, where I realized that the sunshine and trees were directly related to the fresh air I can breathe.  Even on “bad” or unhappy days, the sunshine reminds me that brighter days are ahead.  Yes, today I am thankful for sunshine. I am thankful for freedom.  Today we honor our US Veterans for their sacrifices to win and keep our national freedom.  I never experienced military life but ...

Thanksgiving is in November, so I am writing 30 days of Thankfulness.  Here is Part 1. November 1 I am thankful for beautiful colors. I see the reds and golds in the autumn trees; the pines remain a cool green. The skies above are blue, sometimes gray, sometimes a mixture. Early mornings are pink and yellow; sunsets are purple, orange, and mauve. The nighttime sky is black with sparkling pin-dot stars. Yes, today I am thankful for colors. November 2 I am thankful for rain.  Gently falling, quenching parched plants and trees, soaking into the earth. Stormy torrents, blowing in sheets across, filling the gullies, creating rivulets that cascade into the streams and lakes.  Rain is the life-blood or our planet.  Yes, today I am thankful for rain. November 3 I am thankful for music.  Nature’s symphony of birds, insects, and animals serenade me as I walk down the tree-lined street.  Later, I smile to the familiar words and tunes by my favorite si...