Skip to main content

Thankful Thursday







“I, who have no sisters or brothers, look with some degree of innocent envy on those who may be said to be born to friends.”  James Boswell

My husband is an only child.  He never complains about the loneliness of growing up in a home and being the only kid.  He was blessed with close childhood friends and two awesome cousins.  These cousins are planning a small family reunion in New Mexico this coming weekend and I am thankful for this opportunity for him to connect.  I am thankful, too, that at least one of the cousins moved from Chicago to the west and we get to see him now and then. 

Likewise, I’m thankful for my brothers and sister!   Clara Ortega says this about siblings:

“To the outside world, we all grow old.  But not to brothers and sisters.  We know each other as we always were.  We know each other’s hearts.  We share private family jokes.  We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  We live outside the touch of time.”

We are hitting our first year’s benchmark of being retired in a few days.  The year has flown and our memories bulge with fun times and rewarding improvements on the house.  Retirement has been very good for our marriage.  We’ve done a lot of things together as well as independently and we’ve reached a deeper level of friendship with each other.  I am thankful!

Last night we enjoyed our coffee on our back deck amidst the sounds of the sheep and horses in the corral in the ranch across the street.  Oh, the sounds and smells of country living!  I am thankful for our little patch of rural land, quiet and peaceful.  God signed off another day with yet another dramatic sunset.








It seems that’s a good way to end this post, too!

Comments

  1. SharonJune 5, 2014 at 9:37 AM

    My mom was an only child, and she said it was lonely. But she also had great cousins, and they all lived in a small town. I think that filled some empty places for her.

    In the last year especially, through the care of my parents, and my dad's passing, through the constant care of my mom now, and trying to settle a myriad of things, I have spent more time with my siblings than ever. I am very grateful for them, and for the way that we are all handling these most stressful times. Our communication is great, and though we all have different *styles*, we are united on the things that matter.

    Beautiful sunset, by the way! I love when God paints the sky.

    GOD BLESS!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joyful in His PresenceJune 5, 2014 at 1:34 PM

    I loved hearing how retirement has been good for your marriage, Mary. That is so awesome! I can hardly wait for my hubby to retire. We are looking at probably another three years.

    The sunset was beautiful. Thank you for capturing and sharing! :)

    Hugs to you, sweet friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mevely317June 5, 2014 at 7:13 PM

    I, too, was an 'only child' and felt quite sorry for myself on more than one occasion ... only to turn around and have an 'only' myself. Thankfully - unlike his introverted mother - my son has a wonderfully engaging personality.

    Retirement is probably a luxury DH and I'll not be able to realize, but I'm thrilled to hear the two of you've even grown closer. It's the little things that matter, isn't it?

    Hugs,
    Myra

    ReplyDelete
  4. DeniseJune 6, 2014 at 2:25 AM

    Thanks for sharing sweet friend.

    ReplyDelete
  5. RCUBEsJune 6, 2014 at 5:27 AM

    I was posting a comment but had trouble getting through. ..sorry if there's more than one if it turns out to be :(

    I said that the Lord is awesome that He gave us many relationships. That's wonderful that your husband has relatives that are like brothers to him. I know it will be a fun time when their reunion comes. And now that you both are retired, there's no need to hurry and truly enjoy the special occasion.

    I love the quotes you shared and I agree that your pic ended your post with an exclamation point! Sooo beautiful. Have a great weekend and reunion! Take care sister and be strong in His mighty power.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoyJune 6, 2014 at 10:03 PM

    Good luck to you both. Exciting to begin a new era of your lives.
    yes, friends is good to have.
    I am loving gaining friends through blogworld. Glad I found you:)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Memorial Day Reflection

  Memorial Day is always noteworthy for me and my girls.  Next Thursday marks the third year of missing their father, my husband. So many thoughts  run through my mind.  The journey of loss takes on various emotions.  The strongest feeling, at first, was emptiness.  In a split second, I would forget he departed forever.  I imagined things I needed to talk to him about when he got back home.  My mind is realistic now.  He's not coming back.  There will be no more times of sitting on the porch swing together on the front deck staring at the moon and the stars.  He would tell me all he knew about the majestic night sky. I have so much I wish I could tell him, like the excitement of seeing our oldest grandchild make a decision to follow Jesus and get baptized on Mother's Day!  And our little Amy, 11 years old, I wish he could have seen her on stage receiving her induction to the National Honor Society. Our daughters have their own ...
23 comments
Read more

Abba's Lap

I noticed a behavior pattern in little Amy, twenty months old, that I want to imitate.  She moves fast engaging in one toddler activity after another spinning like a whirlwind from one room to another.  Yet, she pauses,  intermittently , long enough to get refreshed.   I want to be like this grandchild of mine because she knows where to go and how to get comforted. Amy moves at record speed, putting more miles on a pedometer in one hour than my accumulated weekly workouts at the gym.  She can build a skyscraper so tall, I wonder why those bright pink Lego’s don’t topple to the ground as she continues to stack just one more piece on top. I learned never to leave the room to get another cup of coffee.  Once, when I returned, I found her climbing past the couch with hands and feet reaching for the living room drapes. She has a consistent habit that I admire.  In the midst of her activities, as she moves robustly from one play...
51 comments
Read more

A Surprise at the Mall

I lost touch with a writer friend.  I missed her and her cheerful blog posts.  We met up in a most unusual way!  I’m still in awe of how it happened. I finished my shopping at the mall and took a short cut to get to the parking lot.  The path led me through the food court.  The smell of Chicken Fajitas stopped me in my tracks.  I planned lunch elsewhere, but now I followed my nose. I chewed my first bite of chicken taco salad when, out of nowhere, a loud redhead moved rapidly past the tables and into the booth with me.  “I know you !”  She shouted.  I pondered if I knew this crazy lady.  Did she mistake me for someone else?  She shouted louder and stuck her finger in my face:  “ You’re Mary; you have a blog called Pile of Smiles and you live in the Verde Valley .”   It took me a second to compose myself.  I stopped chewing my food.  I know I stared too long at her face and then she said:...
48 comments
Read more