Smiles

During this Thanksgiving season, out thoughts go to counting the many blessings of the past year.  Our family has been the recipient of many.  Yet there are so many families suffering this holiday season, losing their jobs and homes, it is difficult to enjoy.

So what I try to do is look for little things that make me smile.  It is hard to find here in the Chicago area.  People barely look at you in the grocery stores or malls.  Starbucks, which is a sure fire smile factory in the Pacific Northwest, is a real buzz kill here.  Seems no one has time to be civil, if they don't know you.  My dog Waylon Jennings can get people to smile, because he looks like he is smiling all the time, so we go for a lot walks.

Thinking back it is easy for me to remember smiles.  Rocking out in the car with Max and Addie to the song "Dynamite"
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" Put your hands in the air, put your hands in the air!  Addie commenting on my Chris Botti CD with "really, Grandma?!"  When Max was three years old, pulling out of our driveway giving me the thumbs up and saying "thumbs up Grandma!"  Two year old Addie wandering around our yard with Waylon in tow saying,"Come on Waylon, we've got work to do!"  Friends that pop back into our life after thirty odd years.  If we just take time to pay attention to the little things that make us smile, it helps us appreciate the richness in our lives.

I am truly rich in what really matters.