Monday, Nov. 26, 2012

Wow, I had an awesome holiday weekend with my kids and granddaughter!  For a couple of weeks prior to our gathering, I took mental notes on things each of my kids would like to have added to the holiday feast as well as activities they’d enjoy partaking in while here. 

The weekend had us hopping…and yet…we did a lot of relaxing and just hanging out with one another as well.  Managed to accomplish all but one of the items the kids had mentioned they’d like to do.  But my favorite part of the weekend had to be watching all of my children get along. 

Whenever my kids, three of whom are now grown, gather, they each tend to revert to being ten to fifteen years their junior.  Least, they do with me.  And this is one of their most endearing qualities.  Whether they’re laughing, goofy dancing, rough-housing, egging each other on, playfully competing, physically challenging, working together or whatever, one thing’s for certain, whenever the Hanna kids gather, there’s an abundance of laughing, smiling and good memories in the making.

It was heartwarming to watch them interact with one another and me.  And the manner in which all my kids attend to my granddaughter…I couldn’t be prouder of how loving, attentive, patient and encouraging they are with her.

Nothing quite compares to the bonds we form with our children.  And nothing should, for they, our children, are our heart and soul.  They brighten our day just by knowing they exist.  And the privilege of watching them grow into amazing individual adults…that’s icing on the cake!    

Wednesday & Thursday, November 24-25, 2010

I’ve never done a combined two-day blog entry before. Normally, I post my blogs prior to midnight so they’ll be available to read the next day. But if I were to do that for Wednesday’s, it wouldn’t have addressed Thanksgiving. And if I’d waited to post Thursday’s until tomorrow, then it would be irrelevant to the holiday. So…here I am, double posting.

As Thanksgiving draws near each year, I think of what I’m most grateful for. This year took a bit of doing, as I’m grateful for so many things. But wanting to narrow it down, I came up with my being thankful for the many opportunities I have.

I’m appreciative for my opportunity to connect with amazing friends. How I recognize the unique qualities of each and nurture that within our friendship. I’m grateful for being alive. For the chance to get up every day, not knowing what the day will hold but certain that I’ll endeavor to make the most of it. I’m thankful for my family and how they’ve always got my back. I appreciate that I can express myself creatively and turn that passion into a career.

After reflecting, I do, indeed, have an abundance to be grateful for.

What are you grateful for?

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Thanksgiving, for many, seems to herald in the season of folks reconnecting with family. Going to family functions where memorable stories are created. Where fond remembrances are revisited.

For me, Thanksgiving is, indeed, a time to be surrounded by not only family, but by those close enough that in my heart, they’ve become members of my family. It’s a time of breaking bread together, an act I don’t take lightly. Of taking the opportunity to pause life, if only briefly, to gaze into one another’s eyes as we have meaningful conversations that nourish our souls while sharing a meal that feeds our bodies.

In these trying times, Thanksgiving affords us the chance to get back to basics, not overstress about ringing in the holidays with costly gifts that many can’t afford and even more don’t find uses for. Thanksgiving, to me, is a time to give pause to what we already have—family, friends and the fact that we are alive. It’s not a time to begin a spiraling cycle of excessive spending.

And really, what’s the purpose of spending tons of money on silly gifts? Is that what the commercial industry has brought us to? Thinking that the only way others will be pleased with us is if we give them store-bought gifts rather than giving of ourselves? Or from our hearts?

As Thanksgiving grows closer, I find myself beaming over the many gifts I have and grateful that those whom are meaningful to me share my belief that the best gift we can give to another is that of ourselves