As I headed home from a trip a few weeks ago, I was once again given a reminder about gratitude.  I noticed a bit of a cold coming on, when WHAM, I needed to buy stock in the tissue industry!  No it wasn’t the flu, or viral meningitis and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Ebola since I’m still here to write this.  I just ran myself down and my body was reminding me who I hadn’t been taking care of – me. As I snuggled on the sofa  with tissues in hand and watched reruns upon reruns of, Castle and Bones, I remembered what I used to tell my children.  When difficult things happen we should appreciate them, yes appreciate the difficulty — because those difficult times remind us how great we feel when they ARE NOT happening to us! What timing since we are heading into a big ‘ole holiday of thankfulness!!!

• So I’m grateful I’ve stopped sneezing and when I’m stopped on the freeway for an extra 45 minutes due to an accident, I’m appreciative that it wasn’t me IN the accident.
• I’m thankful I have food in my cabinets and how lucky I am to be able to give an extra dollar or two to the individual standing at the entrance of a fast food chain.
• The simple act of taking a warm shower in my home instead of washing up in the sink at a Circle K, is a blessing that I need to be grateful for daily.
• I am blessed to have a pillow, blanket and bed compared to the autos, underpasses and river beds where many families sleep.

Thankful for these two…

With that said I just had a brilliant idea — why not blend Thanksgiving and Christmas into one ginormous holiday of thanks and love and giving and glitter?  Like Thanksmas or Christgiving?  It may catch on and turn into a full year of thanks and love and giving and glitter.  It could happen….

Grateful for you, my family and a holiday to remind us to be Thankful,

Sheree

Today I sit here attempting to decipher and fill out my mail-in ballot, which I will be walking into my voting poll tomorrow – I’ve been busy, really…  Besides, voting and all that goes with it is A LOT of work.

It’s a lot of work…

I’m exhausted from being barraged by TV commercials, flyers in the mail, talk shows and Facebook opinions from friends at both ends of the spectrum. I’ve struggled through the documentation on the people and propositions and found, once again, that what is said in ads and on TV is not necessarily the truth.

I don’t want Oprah or any other person who has a ‘following’ to tell me who “they” are voting for. I pray that their followers will actually think for themselves and not become lemmings. I hope people will actually read and research who and what proposition will create a safe and free nation, who and what proposition will support teaching our children skills and knowledge instead of teaching our children how to take tests, and who and what proposition will create jobs instead of unemployment checks.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Chinese proverb (always loved that saying).

Demand the truth, don’t believe everything posted on social media, take personal responsibility and read up, research and ask questions from different sources. Democrats rant on Republicans and Republicans rant on Democrats, nothing is new here, but the ability to research a multitude of sources at our fingertips which is right in front of us.  With a few clicks I can find out if promises were kept, if schools should receive funding, and where the heck all those tax dollars are going.  These are research skills we teach our children, why aren’t we using them?

I vote not by party, or race, or religion, or because someone else likes them, rather for the individuals  who I think will keep our borders safe, help our inner cities to become glowing again, and strengthen our towns to nurture agriculture and family values.   People who will work to create jobs for the young and old so they can find joy in the sense of accomplishing something – either building the skyscrapers or working in them.

Bottom line – I vote for the person or proposition that will instill “pride” in what we do, who we are and how we do it.

So tomorrow, be an individual. Think with your heart, vote on what you believe in and be proud that you have the ability to do so.  Be the change, not the gossip.  Do it by voting, loaded with the knowledge of the people and the issues.

Grateful for you,

Sheree