God wants us to be thankful, because He really is worthy of our thanks, and I think we are happier when we are thankful.  But sometimes just being thankful is hard….is a sacrifice.
I am thankful for my daughters. They have become kind, compassionate, intelligent, funny, dedicated, faith filled women.  I’m thankful for my family that gathered together at Katie & Jordan’s for dinner this year to try a new tradition.  I’m thankful for Ashley who slept with me every night so I wouldn’t be alone.  I’m thankful for my dad….who is going the distance.  These things don’t feel sacrificial, because it its easy to be thankful for good things.
Bob spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the hospital.  I am thankful that Rusty spent Thanksgiving day with him so that I could cook.  I am thankful for good nurses who cared for him.  I’m thankful that he only spent 4 days there.  Hard to be thankful for these, but No matter how bad it looks, there’s always something deserving of my thanks.

It’s been six months since mom left us; we have had many “firsts” without her. First birthdays, first anniversaries, first Father’s Day…now we enter the first holidays.
I will work very hard on staying Thankful during this season. I will find things to be thankful for, and concentrate on those things. Will there be pain? yes. Will there be sorrow? yes. Will there be lots of tears? yes, as a matter of fact Stan and I cried together this morning just thinking about the week ahead. BUT, we will get through this, all of us together. And for that I am thankful.
Baby steps.