Thanksgiving ... mixed emotions.

Love you, Meemaw

Anyone who has ever lost a loved one near a holiday knows the mixed emotions that come with celebrating that holiday.  It is sometimes easy to forget the purpose of the holiday when you are wrestling with your own emotions, especially when you think that the holiday will never ever be the same again.  Thanksgiving was one of my mom's favorite holidays because it is about family.  Mom was all about family.  Nothing meant more to her than family, and nothing gave her more joy than having the family together.  I know she will not be with family here this Thanksgiving but she will be with her heavenly family.  Since it is Thanksgiving, I want to thank God for the life of my mom.  If everyone whom she had ever touched in a positive way clicked like on this blog, Facebook would crash.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that. Mom's love was like a ripple in a lake; one touch expanding and expanding until the waves from that single touch crash on the banks.  But, she never stopped at one single touch.  She touched hundreds of people in hundreds of different ways.  I am thankful that I was raised by such a loving woman.  Mom didn't just mouth the words, "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything."  She lived them.  In fact, she went beyond that and spoke kind things about those who did not deserve it.  I think of the saying that you can always add, "Bless his heart." to any kind of insult to make it sound better.  He is such an idiot, bless his heart.   First, my mom would never call anyone an idiot.  Secondly, when she said bless his or her heart, it wasn't an off-the-cuff remark, it was a sincere prayer.

We miss you, Mom, but I know that everytime I see a wave lapping up on the beach that your influence is still working in this world.