I'm Thankful for...

Some days you get up and you know you are blessed.

Whenever I go to any Special Olympics event I am always inspired (to tears at times) by the gains made by the kids and by the people who work with them to help them meet those goals. You see kids who usually walk with walkers swimming in races. It's a joy to behold. They are so proud to receive their awards. This past week as the banquet was ending we were dismissed by the teacher emceeing. But one little girl didn't think that was quite enough. Up she goes to the microphone and says, "The Special Olympics banquet is done. AMEN." Amen, indeed.

I'm thankful for committed and caring teachers and other kinds of mentors who work with children. I know from personal experience the mark a good teacher can make on a child's life, and I see it happening again with my own children. I'm thankful for them.

I am thankful for the spiritual people who are what Psalm 92 calls "fresh and green even in old age." I won't name them, and some of them have passed away, but they inspire me - I want to be like them as I grow older.

I'm thankful for people who use their area of influence to help and encourage others. These are the people who open a door to help another achieve their goals.

I'm thankful for blue skies on a hot summer day and cold water to swim in.

I'm thankful for fathers and mothers, spouses and children, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, cousins and neighbors and friends who share one of the most beautiful places on earth.

I'm thankful for the possibilities of a blank canvas or an unplanted garden.

I'm thankful for carpenters who help my vision for my home become a reality.

I'm thankful for the satisfied feeling you get when a project is completed and works the way you designed it to work.

I'm thankful for drawings done on Magnadoodles by children learning about the beauty of line.