I’m Thankful

By
Mindy
Published: November 24, 2009Posted in: General/MiscellaneousComments: 18Tags: , , ,

It seems to be the growing trend this week to blog about your “Thankfulness.”  Gee…I wonder why?  Could it be that we are days away from that time-tested holiday gorge-fest better known as Thanksgiving?  Yup.  So I have purposed to pinpoint a couple of things I’m especially thankful for on these few days leading up to the big Turkey Day. 

Thinking about gratitude led me to thinking about aging.  You know, there’s not a whole lot I love about growing older.  Certainly not the ever-growing lines spreading out horizontally from the corners of my eyes.   My friend told me they’re called “wrinkles” but I prefer to think of them as semi-permanent indentations of the skin caused by an optimistic attitude and zest for life.   Whatever you call them you most certainly don’t see them gracing the faces of the young and innocent, the ones not exponentially aging.

I’m also not completely happy with the fact that with each passing year I forget words like “furniture polish” and “windchime.”  Admittedly not essential to the vocabulary but frustrating nonetheless.  And it usually happens at the most inopportune of times.   I’ll say, “Jer, could you grab me the…um…” 

He’ll answer, “What?” 

I’ll say, “The…dammit…come on.  You know the…thing…oh, you…dang….what is it called?” 

He’ll say, “I have no idea.” 

I’ll say, “Yes, you do.  You just talked about it the other day.  It’s…Gawd!” 

He’ll say, “Let’s see, dishcloth, magazine, NASCAR, remote con-” 

“Yes!!!  Remote control!  Thank you, Jesus.  NASCAR?”  It usually goes something like that.

And you know what else really bugs me about growing older?  Where the heck are my eyebrows going?  I swear that a good 5 hairs jump ship when I go to bed at night.  It’s like they decided to gradually leave me so I don’t notice  right away.  They’re probably off to find a new home with some young college chick with absolutely no smile lines (not wrinkles) and who never forgets a friggin’ word.

So, I don’t absolutely love everything about growing older but one thing I most certainly value about it is the fact that with each year I gain new perspective and appreciation for what is truly important in life.   I value friendships (except for the one friend who maintains that I am riddled with wrinkles) in a completely different way than I ever have.  I’ve always valued friends but the presence of friendship in my life used to fulfill a certain purpose:  friends were fun.  Pretty simple.  Now?  My friends keep me sane.  They offer sympathy, empathy, congratulations, good-natured humor, emotional grounding, and positive influence at all the appropriate times.  My friends fill up a space in my heart that could only ever be reserved for them. 

Growing older has allowed me the more mature perspective to reevaluate the purpose of friendship.  And for this I am THANKFUL.

To ALL the friends who have enhanced my life…I say “Thank you.” 

Phew…I’m exhausted.  That was kind of deep.  Or maybe it wasn’t, in which case I’m not quite as evolved as I thought I was.  Crap.

Mindy

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