Hmm, 'Thanksgiving Thursdays' Has A Nice Ring To It.

My cheesy November meme. Rather than the whole 30 Days of Thanksgiving, I'll just cut it down to the Thursdays. Because Thanksgiving is on a Thursday, and because alliteration.

So for my first Thanksgiving Thursday, I'm going to try to put a positive spin on missing Scotland. Right now, back home, my am-dram (amateur dramatics) friends have just closed the curtains on their first performance of Singing in the Rain. It is making me miss rainy, cold, wet Greenock so much. So today I'm going to cheer myself up by being thankful for the things I DON'T miss about Greenock!

1. I don't miss the constant awful weather. I love rainy days, but come on. A little sunshine now and again is nice!

2. I don't miss the crime. It's nice seeing the newspapers telling ordinary, unexciting news, instead of 'OAP Gets Fatally Stabbed For Watching Coronation Street On His TV Too Loud... Every Day'.

3. I don't miss the drugs. It's awesome to feel safe at night on my own. I don't have to prepare myself for dealing with possible junkies approaching me as I unlock my car, asking for money, and quite possibly ready to chib me if I say no.

4. I don't miss the expensive price of living. America's isn't great, but it's at least a little better.

5. I don't miss the petrol prices. I can fill my massive tank of a minivan on $65-70 every two weeks. That's, like, £40. My Zafira was taking £75 a week! (Though, oddly, I drove more in Scotland than I do in Arkansas, which seems totally backwards.)


There. I am trying to be positive. I made it to 5. It was actually very hard to come up with even five things I don't miss about Scotland. But I'm being positive. I'm getting used to, and kind of like, the easy-going, slow-paced, 'meh' lifestyle of rural Arkansas. For now anyway. Thankfulness and stuff!




*This post's inspiration brought to you by Kirsten McCluskey.

Scottish Everything

My kids - my favourite Scottish things!

Today is the last of my 30 Days of Thanksgiving. It is also St. Andrew's Day.

So in honour of the latter, I will conclude my series with giving thanks for Scotland. Or rather the opportunity I have been given to live in Scotland.

I love everything about this place, aside from the things I hate (which is largely the weather). A few things I love about Scotland are:

- Scottish humour
- Scottish Blend Tea
- Scottish Nationalist Party
- Scotch (single malt whisky)
- Scots dialect and words
- Scottish accents (various)
- Scottish countryside
- the Clyde
- Potato Scones
- Lorne sausage ('slice')
- Scottish Breakfasts in general (minus black pudding)
- Clootie dumpling
- Robert Burns
- Haggis
- Scottish history (especially stories like the Battle of Stirling Bridge!)
- Tartan

The list could probably go on and on, but these are things that I love about this place. I'm so thankful to live here, and despite the dreich weather, it's a beautiful country with beautiful (if not somewhat pessimistic!) people. I am proud to be honorarily Scottish-American.

Happy St. Andrew's Day!

This Is Your Life

I've found this 30 Days of Thanksgiving to be a difficult writing prompt. Not because I can't think of anything to be thankful for, but because I simultaneously set myself the challenge of also taking a photograph of each day's subject. That's what has been hard. I either can't think of what to photograph to go along with what is in my head, or I don't think of what to write about until late at night like this, by which time I've lost the chance to take a good photo during the day. (Hence the mildly extremely pretentious self portraits on several days!)

So today, if I could write about anything I'm thankful for without having to think of a photographable object to go with it, I'd be thankful for... well, my whole life! I really truly love my life. I love my hobbies, my friends, my jobs, my family, my opportunities, my experiences, my abilities - I'm just genuinely happy with the life that I have. It's not perfect, but it's great. I'm married to a guy I love and have fun with, I have three amazingly awesome children, I have the best in-laws you could ask for, I have wonderful parents and brothers, I get to do fun stuff like be on stage and write (and tour Scotland and write!), I've travelled to so many different countries... och, I'm just really happy and really thankful for everything!

Lame, isn't it, lumping it all in together, but seriously, I'm thankful for my awesome life full of awesome experiences.

And since I *must* find a photo that expresses that, here's a photo from tonight's panto, getting to do one of the great things I love to do, be on stage. Alas, I bring you Jack and Princess Alice, together at last, together forever!

(I'm also thankful for how good my legs look in that costume...)

Faith

A lot of the time these days, my reason persuades me to think that the concept of God as relayed in the Bible cannot be true.

And then a lot of time these days, my heart sorta smiles and says, 'But maybe...'

There is no way to prove God exists, and there is no way we can know with absolute certainty that He doesn't.

Today, though, I've been reminded that so often in life things happen at just the right moment, right when it needs to happen most, and it does seem awfully well orchestrated... maybe it's God?

Today I'm thankful that I was raised to believe in God, even if I'm not sure anymore, and I'm thankful for the way things always seem to work out for the best - thanks to God, I think. Even if it isn't thanks to God, I still give my thanks to him, because who else is there to thank? Just when what you need comes to you just when you need it most, that's something science doesn't explain... at least not satisfactorily. It sounds a lot like everything working together for good for those who love God, at least to me.

I'm thankful for my reason which gets me pretty far, and I'm also thankful for my heart which carries me the rest of the way.

"When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don't, they don't." -Sir William Temple

Magic Moments

About five and a half years ago, we were up all night with a fussy baby, waiting for that first tooth to come through.

Today, that first tooth came out.

I had other things I could have written about today, but this trumps it all. I'm so thankful for my sweet daughter and moments like these. The sheer delight and thrill on the girls faces when Daddy 'thought he heard bells jingling', and Fifi discovered her fairy letter and coin, and Lolly backed up Daddy's story by claiming to have 'heard the magic' too, is something I hope I never forget.

There's A Story of a Lovely Lady...

I put out my Christmas tablecloth today, the one I bought last year in the after-Christmas sale while shopping with my step-mum. The tablecloth brought back memories of last Christmas in Arkansas, meeting my step-parents for the first time.

I might be getting controversial here, but today, I am thankful for my step-parents.

I mean, obviously, my parents' divorce was not something I was happy about or wanted, but in the end, it's what happened and life goes on. What I'm happy about now is that both my parents found someone new that has brought happiness back into their lives. I don't know if it's 'the right thing to say', but I'm really happy that they are happy. And I'm really happy that my step-parents are happy now too.

I've only met my step-mum once, but I've talked to her loads on the phone and on internet chat, and she is such a lovely woman, so friendly, loving and fun. She makes my dad happy, and I'm thankful for that. We have a lot in common, and I know that if I were there, we'd really get along great. She really dotes on my kids and treats them as her own, which is nice considering she has so many biological grandkids already - it's special to me that she has room in her heart for mine too! I look forward to getting to know her better and look forward to showing her around Scotland next Spring! (NOT looking forward to showing yet another person Edinburgh Castle though... ohhh I'm so tired of it!)

I've met my step-dad a couple of times now, and he's a great guy too. He's so generous, helpful and caring, and he makes my mom happy. He would honestly do anything for you, even without you having to ask. He's a gentle fellow and has a big heart. When he and Mom came over to visit after Jaguar was born, he was so easy to get along with and so kind and so good with the kids. I'm really glad I've gotten to know him a bit better, and thankful that my mom is happy.

It's controversial to talk about, because, well, my parents read my blog (I think), and I don't know how they will feel about me liking their ex-spouse's new spouse, but what can I say? There's no point in living in the past, no point in holding a grudge or refusing to allow a new person in. My parents' lives are not my life; all I can do is love them for who they are, not what has happened in their past, and then go on to accept their futures. I like both my new step-parents a lot. I'm thankful for them, thankful they are both nice people, and thankful that my family has increased to allow loads of new people in for me to meet and love. I have now two step-brothers and four step-sisters and far too many step-nieces and nephews than I can even keep track of! I'm thankful for this; my family is bigger and more complicated than ever, but I love it!

Call me a people-pleasing middle child, but I'm thankful everyone is happy once again.

"The only steps in this house are those right there!", says Carol Ann, pointing to the stairs. - a quote I remember from The Brady Bunch

Our House Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

Thirty minutes until tomorrow... better make this quick!

This morning, the kids and I visited a new church. I liked the grown-up part, the kids loved the Sunday School, so looks like we'll be giving it another go. The minister, in his children's address, talked about Thanksgiving and things we can be grateful for. They were mostly the biggies - food, water, shelter - and it reminded me that one of those 'biggies' I have yet to give thanks for this month.

Shelter.

I am thankful for my house. Fifirst, in the big, survival sort of way - I'm thankful that I have shelter from the elements, a warm, dry place to live, sleep, and cook in. But in a more particular way, I'm thankful for this house. We have a great landlady who is friendly, helpful, always on the ball, and approachable. The flat is large and spacious, clean, and perfect for our needs. The kitchen is massive and fits a dining room table, something that is incredibly important to Scott and I as we will always make sure our family sits around the table for dinner at night.

The kids have a massive big bedroom (they are in the master bedroom) with plenty of room for their over-abundance of toys, and floor space to play in. Our room is just big enough for our things plus Jaguar's, and there is even a guest bedroom/store room/library which could be converted into Jaguar's room one day if need be.

And the rent is affordable. I'm really thankful we found this place.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

This year was almost the first year I didn't make a Thanksgiving dinner. With panto starting next week and Lolly's birthday party the week after, I just didn't have the time, money or energy to make a big meal and organise the family to come over. So I had sort of given up on the idea of Thanksgiving this year.

It wasn't until Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, while I was getting my groceries, that I decided, no. I will not lose my Thanksgiving tradition. We will have cheap meals the other nights, and I'm buying what I need to make this meal on Saturday, the only day I had free. So I did.

But then with all the other things I had in mind that need to get done for Christmas, I texted my friend Sarah and asked her if she and her family wanted to come over Saturday to take each other's family portraits for Christmas. After we arranged it, I remembered I was supposed to be doing Thanksgiving on the same day, so I invited them to just come over at lunch time and have Thanksgiving with us. So they did.

It was a really lovely day. I woke up at 7.30 (which is still a lie in for me, as the kids were up at 6) and made the pumpkin pie with the children. Then we made the stuffing. I ran out and did some errands, came back with a cooked rotisserie chicken (blasphemy, I know, on so many levels) and made the sweet potato souffle, deviled eggs and the spicy baked beans. Sarah, Ian and their kids arrived at 1, by which point I still had my glasses on, hair pulled back the same way I'd done it upon waking, jeans and a tshirt and no make-up. Oh well!

We all ate our fill, and then some. It was great catching up, the kids played well together, and then we took our family photos. I ducked out momentarily to brush my hair, straighten my fringe and put on some eyeshadow, and that was about all I had time for. No matter, the photos turned out pretty well, even if upon looking at them later I realised it was a bad move to stuff ourselves silly and then take photos; what a gut I was sporting!

I am thankful that I had my Thanksgiving dinner after all. It made me happy and less homesick. Now I'm looking forward to trying to squeeze in a few more photos in the morning of the kids in their proper Christmas outfits, a Christmas tree decorating, and a visit to a new church all before panto dress rehearsal at 2pm.

FTR: This next week is going to be manic, and there will likely be more than just a few super-fast mobile phone posts, as I'll be running ragged! I'm certainly not looking forward to that part of panto week!

The Social Network

I am thankful for... Facebook.

Oh yes, it has many faults and is often misused, but I am thankful for it because it keeps me linked to family and friends abroad. Email was great, blogs are great, the phone is great, but Facebook has allowed me to keep in touch with people on a regular, daily basis and make me feel somehow closer to them.

I've avoided too much Facebook browsing the past couple of days, because the Thanksgiving chat was depressing, but still, I'm so thankful that I can see photos of my friends, read about what they had for breakfast, and wish them happy birthdays. I like knowing they can keep up with me too, and I'm not totally outta-sight-outta-mind.

That's what I'm thankful for on this post-Thanksgiving Day Friday.

Betty Crocker's Red Velvet Cake

Call me shallow, but today, what I'm thankful for, is that Tesco has started selling this:

The only way this could've cheered my Thanksgiving Day blues more would have been to find tinned pumpkin in the baking aisle too.

Reading Rainbow

I love to read. From my earliest childhood memories, I was surrounded by books and loved reading them. My first 'big' book I ever read cover to cover ALL ON MY OWN was Tikki Tikki Tembo. I used to read The Babysitters Club books like there was no tomorrow. I had to get every new book that came out and had the entire series from Kristy's Big Idea to book number 60 or so. I'd often be in the middle of reading four or more BSC books at a time, and all of them had been read a dozen times over.

In high school, I started to learn to love classic literature, thanks to the Divine Mrs Davis, our incredible English teacher. There I discovered books like Tess of the d'Urbervilles and A Scarlet Letter. It was Mrs Davis that inspired me to go on to do English at University, and there my love of books flourished - as did my lit snobbery, ahem.

I am still trying to get all my books to Scotland. You'd think I'd love libraries, but I don't. I love to own books, to have them on my bookshelves ready to be read whenever I want, whenever a title comes back to me that I haven't read in a while. I love buying new books and breaking the binding. A book that looks perfect and clean is pleasant to look at but doesn't look loved.

Since having children, I don't get nearly the amount of time to read as I'd like, but now I relish it more. When I actually get a chance to start and finish a book, whether a new read or an old favourite, I feel fulfilled and satisfied. I love a book full of wisdom, humanity, honesty, and complication. I hate chick lit, I rarely enjoy Bestsellers, but give me an old book that has stood the test of time, and 9 times out of 10, I will be captivated.

I am thankful for books and thankful for my love of reading. I hope I can pass this love onto my children. So far they seem to be as enraptured by books and stories as I was, and with Fifi in particular, there is a real hunger to learn to read, in both Gaelic and English. I hope this stays with her.

(I tried to be honest with these two photos, no shuffling about to look pretentious. I did, however, remove an absolutely awful book I was once given that I could never bring myself to waste time reading. I had to move it from the photo... I just had to.)

The Day Is Over

Today was a rough day. Lack of sleep, lack of preparation, and it was my Inspection.

Childminders, like nurseries and schools, get inspected by the Care Commission (now called Scottish Social Work or Care something something, I don't know what SCSWIS stands for really). It's a big deal and has a big effect on your business. I, being somewhat of a perfectionist, was not ready for such a big thing only weeks after starting back to work.

My inspection ended up going pretty well, but there were paperwork-type things that I didn't have properly in place, which might affect my grading. Sure most of what the inspector was looking for was fine and she did say I'd probably get a high grading, but those darn pieces of paper are haunting me. I wanted to be perfect. Now I can't stop thinking of my imperfections.

It's ridiculous that of all the positive things that were said today, the only ones I remember are the negative.

I had most of my paperwork in order. The children I look after gave her great reports of their time spent with me. My childminding environment was commended. She even said she appreciated that I'm only just back at work, and she knows from my last review that I have good policies and procedures in place, and I'm right now only just getting back into the swing of things. But still, all I can think is, 'I should've had that done!'

Gah.

So today, while of course I'm thankful for many things like food, shelter, water, family, friends... well, I'm just thankful that today is over. A few hours sleep, and I can start afresh tomorrow.

"Tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it."

(I love Anne of Green Gables.)

Breakfast in Bed

I'm really annoyed that I a) missed blogging on Friday and b) only mobile-blogged last night, missing a great opportunity to write about my friends. But time presses on and I at least need to get on with today's 30 Days of Thanksgiving post, so here's what I'm thankful for today:

Scott.

I've said it so many times, so I won't keep repeating myself, but I freaking love my husband. He can be a pain in the backside a lot of the time, but he is my best friend and I love every bone in his sexy body.

I woke up this morning to breakfast in bed. Scott made me bacon and a fried egg over a fried pancake with a cup of tea. It was delish. He is always doing lovely things like that, but out of the blue, so it always feels like such a treat. He might well have been making up for the fact he didn't do the dishes a few nights ago, but either way! He makes sure I know beyond any shadow of doubt that he loves me devotedly.

I won't make you all sick by describing how much I love him, I'll just suffice it to say that I am very thankful for my man, my Movember-mustache man, my World of Warcraft man, my Guitar-Playing man. He's a good daddy, a good husband and a good friend.

And he makes a mean breakfast.

Friends

*REPOSTED TO ADD MORE DRIVEL*

I don't want to fail again at NaBloPoMo tonight. I was childminding this morning, running errands this afternoon and now I'm out with my girlfriends for a birthday night out.
Dinner was delicious, the wine is flowing, the music is great.
So far we've covered topics ranging from our daughters approaching puberty to where to get the best deal on toilet paper to ex-boyfriends to the names of each of the bones in your hands. Cracking night out!
Have I mentioned how thankful I am for my wonderful friends?

*EDITED TO ADD AND EXPOUND*

I hate that I had to mobile blog the above Thanksgiving 30, because writing about friends deserves so much more than that. So I'm adding and expounding.

I have made some incredible friends since moving to Scotland. My first year was difficult; I didn't know anyone, I didn't have too many friends (though I made friends at work who were really great), and I really struggled making the transition. Scott introduced me to Sarah, his best friend's wife, and she has been a great friend ever since. I adore Sarah. We have so much in common and yet are so very different too. I am thankful for Sarah.

I began making friends through church later down the line (Amanda, Cheryl, Lorna, Jen to name a just a few), and then I had Fifi. I was no longer at work, and none of my friends yet had babies, and suddenly to a degree I was isolated to once again. That's when I met Maria and Carol. We all three were new mums with a lot in common (but again, also very, very different too), and we instantly clicked. Those two girls are two of my favourite people in the world, and I love them both to bits. I am so thankful for them. (Even if Carol DID decide to move away from us! How dare she!)

A little bit later, right after having Lolly, I started getting to know the girls I was out with last night - Heather, Paula and Elaine. While I'd say my friendships with them grew a lot slower than the way I became friends with Carol and Maria very quickly, these friendships have grown very strong with deep roots and bonded together by difficult experiences. We all come from different backgrounds, have different beliefs and opinions, but we respect each other for our differences and benefit from them. We have all in some way influenced each other for the better, and I love these girls and would do anything for them, as I know they would for me. If I'm ever in a car accident, I know at least two of them would re-lactate to feed my baby! Haha! (But seriously.)

So I just want to say how thankful I am that I have been blessed with so many friends. And I have tons more than those mentioned above. I am thankful for all of them, because all of my friends are special. All of them have made my life a little better, and I am thankful for them.

My Bed

Tonight all I can say is Thank You For My Bed.

I'm off to join this little guy in it.

Good night.

The Night Cap

Tonight it's all about the simple pleasures. The little delights that get you through the day.

The alcohol.

What a day I've had. It all began around 3am when Jaguar decided it was morning, and lay in bed, gurgling, kicking and squealing for an hour. Scott's snoring added a certain je ne sais pas to this early morning symphony. Then the pitter patter of darling feet running to our room - Fifi, who had had a nightmare, and Lolly on her tail. I finally got back to sleep somewhere around 5am, and was awoken by my safety alarm set on my phone... the alarm I set to wake me again if I sleep through the first alarm, the one that essentially says, 'The boy you take to school will be here any minute and will want to know why you are still in your pajamas IF YOU DON'T GET UP RIGHT NOW.'

After the school run, I came home and waited in all day for a delivery that never arrived. Upon phoning the company, it turns out it hasn't even been dispatched. It won't be in until Monday now. Booo.

And in the afternoon? Lolly was A BLEEDING NIGHTMARE. She was HORRENDOUSLY behaved. I was at my wit's end.

The day just continued like that, little things plus big things all set up to make my day as miserable as possible. Thank God for in-laws who came over after Scott's work and made us dinner and played with my insane children for me while I decompressed for five minutes.

Honestly, I was ready to start drinking by 3pm, but I knew I had errands to run in the car this evening.

I ran my errands after 7, came home around 9.30, and FINALLY, I was able to have a wee drink. Gin would've suited me better tonight, or wine, but Bailey's in a hot chocolate with marshmallows did the trick.

Guys, I am thankful for alcohol.

And for any teetotalers out there, Proverbs 31:6 - "Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts." I was ready to perish today, and my kids were giving me a heavy heart. Yeah they were. Pass the hooch.

My Awesome Job

So busy tonight with orders, online inventory, stocking my shelves (which first involved clearing some shelves to make room for stocking) that I never blogged in time to officially meet the NaBloPoMo requirements. Fail. But! I still haven't been to sleep, so Scott says it still counts. A day is from when you wake up until you go to bed, so he says. Let's just go with that, shall we?

Today I am thankful for my job. As a childminder I get the best of both worlds - I get to work and make money, and at the same time stay home with my kids. I'm so thankful that I don't have to put my kids in childcare, so I can go back to work. I know childminding certainly isn't for everyone, so I'm very glad it's for me!

I've been very fortunate so far with childminding. I've had some really great kids to look after. I've had lovely, sweet, spirited little people surrounding me for the last year and a half. Currently, I'm only doing before and after school care, plus Saturdays. It's working out nicely. I love little tiny children, and I am still looking to take on another small person, but I also get such great joy out of looking after older kids. All the older kids I've had in the past and all the ones I have now are simply awesome kids. I love them all. My kids love them too, and they all seem to like my kids back. It works well. I enjoy playing games with them, making things with them, and just talking to them.

This is my job, guys! Hanging out with awesome kids is my JOB! I am so thankful for that!

(I'm not so thankful, however, that having only been back to work one full week, I'm already booked in for my care inspection next Tuesday. Wanna give me a minute to get back into it, please?! Better get this paperwork done asap!)

Rain...

Today's 30 Days of Thanksgiving subject is written begrudgingly, through forced smiles, in much the same way you thank your old Aunt Margaret for the Christmas socks. I'm writing it, because it's something I ought to be thankful for, though it's so easy to resent it instead.

I am thankful for rain.

I certainly didn't feel thankful for it this afternoon, as I fought with an umbrella, car keys, a wayward Lolly and a screaming Jaguar while waiting outside the school gates for the kids. In fact, I think the exact words out of my mouth were, "I hate this stupid country!" (It's possible "stupid" may have been replaced with an Irish swear word instead.) And yes, it would be an understatement to say this bleepin' weather gets me down. It would be all right if it just rained like this for a season, or if it was offset by a gorgeous summer, but it isn't.

Rain, rain go away, come back in a year next May.

However.

Over the summer, my American compatriots were genuinely desperate for just enough rain to dampen their drought. Rain would have been manna from heaven, a luscious kiss of blessing. I won't forget the words of a Scot living in America: "I never thought I'd say this, but I hope it rains soon."

We have the opposite extreme, and it is extreme, but I am thankful we have rain. Our grass is ever green, our lochs and reservoirs never dry, our drinking water free. For these reasons, I am thankful for rain.

I'd still appreciate it though if our average annual sunshine was greater than 25%. I mean, come on.

(Read more about the weather in our little Western nook of the Clyde valley.)

Lest We Forget

Today is Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. The 11th day of the 11th month. So it is right that today I say thank you to all our armed forces, past and present, who have given their lives for our safety and freedom.

My dad and brother are both Air Force-turned-Air National Guard men, both have served abroad, my grandfather fought in Korea, my cousin fought in Afghanistan, and a school friend and brother of a school friend lost his life while serving his country. My dad used to try to convince me to join the military, but it was never my thing. At all. My brother did ROTC in school, but that to me was the last place I'd wanted to be. I don't know how to put this appropriately, but I never wanted anything to do with the military, myself. I get that wars are sometimes necessary, but I hate them. (I guess no one loves them.) I just couldn't understand volunteering for that life.

So I suppose that makes me selfish. Or maybe not. Maybe it just isn't my calling. But it makes me all the more grateful for the unselfish people who chose, and choose, to devote their lives - and I don't mean just the living part, but also the dying - for the rest of us. What a brave, incomprehensible sacrifice, that I know I'm not big enough to make! Yet these incredible people fight for my freedom, even though I'm too selfish, too chicken, too wannabe-pacifist to do it for myself. How can I ever thank these people enough for what they do for me?

I cannot imagine seeing the atrocities they see at war. I cannot imagine facing the fear they must face in the trenches or in the air. I cannot imagine the pressure they must feel, fighting for something as huge as the Greater Good or Freedom or any other worthy cause; must less, I can't imagine the conflict some must feel at fighting a war they may personally disagree with, where the ideology of the war is contrary to their own ideologies. And yet they fight anyway, out of honour and duty to their countries. Wow.

I wear a poppy each year... well, scratch that, I buy and subsequently lose several poppies each year. I don't feel I know very much about World War 1 (I think history education in America is absolutely appalling when it comes to teaching students about the rest of the world); Scott has tried to tell me all about WW1, but I still know very little about it. I only know slightly more about WW2 for that matter, which, again, I blame school for. (I mean, do Americans actually teach the WW2 started in 1942?!) But despite my lack of knowledge, which I am ashamed of, I wear a poppy simply to support those who lived and died fighting for a cause that was right. I want to support and thank those who are fighting right now, whether I agree with the wars currently going on or not. Because at the end of the day, they have the courage to fight on behalf of their countrymen and women, and I do not. So thank you, service men and women out there. I am thankful for what you do, on my behalf. And whether I or anyone else supports the actual wars that you are called to fight in or not, I will still say, thank you for doing it. You live a bigger life than I ever will, and your legacies are never forgotten. I am thankful for you.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Nights Out

I'm out tonight for the last GLOC show in the Arts Guild. Afraid I won't be home before midnight, I'm blogging from my phone.

I am thankful for nights out with friends, a baby who lets me get out and a husband who encourages me to go out.  I am thankful for having gotten the chance to get into the local amateur dramatics and being on stage and for meeting such fun people.

**EDITED TO EXPOUND**
Now that I'm home (and with ten minutes to midnight), I'll add a bit more.

I did theatre and acting in high school. It was my life. It was all I cared about, but I went away to University and firmly put all that behind me (sour grapes and stuff). I never expected to do that kind of thing ever again. But I still enjoyed going to the theatre and seeing shows.

When I saw a sign in town advertising RENT in the Arts Guild, I was mega-excited and dragged Scott along to see it with me. I didn't know anything about there being local groups, and just assumed it was a touring company. That is, until I was there, and someone behind me said they were there to see a friend from work perform. That's when I discovered these were local people, and there must be some sort of amateur dramatics community.

Fifi was doing Highland dancing and ballet at Jackson Dance Academy, and having seen advertisements in her studio for shows in the Arts Guild, I asked Linda (the dance teacher) if she knew anything. She gave me a few numbers, told me about a few auditions coming up, and I inquired. Next thing I knew, I was auditioning for Footloose, a nervous wreck!

From then on, I've been hooked. I've done several shows locally now, and have had the best time of my life, rediscovering a passion I forgot I had. Just now I'm two weeks away from opening night of Puss In Boots, a pantomime, and also two weeks away from auditioning for Sound of Music. I'm so thankful to have this outlet, to be able to sing, dance and act on stage again, and for all the wonderful friends I've made doing it.

I love you guys! (And for Lee, who will be reading this, YER MAW!)

(And publish now, three minutes to twelve. Still made NaBloPoMo!)