Friday, November 21, 2008

Thank you for Thanksgiving

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving this year, I have so many things to be thankful for. As a teenager I was a nice girl but definitely opinionated. My Mom would say much of that can be credited to my 3rd-6th grade teacher, Mr. Downey. He wore salmon pink polo shirts and jeans, with a short ponytail and glasses. He played Queen during reading time and threw starbursts at us when we answered questions correctly. When we had sore throats he let us suck on hard candy and he always let us decorate our room like a jungle or rain forest. I adopted a lot of his mannerisms being around him 7 hrs a day 5 days a week and to this day I write my eights using two circles instead of the traditional figure eight, like he did. I can only imagine how hard it was for my parents not to slap me silly for talking back so much. I'm thankful that growing up I was allowed to wear my jean skirt, hooded sweater and skater shoes to church. (I'm thankful that they curbed me but didn't completely shut me down.) I'm thankful for sisters that let me sleep in their beds, brought me home subway sandwiches to share after work, who on my birthday, away at a basketball tournament, bought me a stuffed animal so I new she didn't forget. I'm thankful to have been told to "go play outside" a time or to that developed my love for tree climbing and pine cone throwing and spear fern fighting. I'm thankful for brothers who let me ride their scooters, play legos and paint models. For tying my barbies to plastic garbage bags and throwing them off the sky bridge or balcony(convincing me the whole time it was a parachute and she'd be fine). I'm thankful for memories and laughter. For family, for fun. For Husband and daughters. For fast cars and the color brown. Mostly I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who placed me in a family that I fit in perfectly. For a Savior who forgives me for all my imperfections and for the Spirit that helps me understand my feelings and untangles the questions in my mind. So mostly this post was a rambling of thoughts and thanks! And in the end I'm just Thankful for Thanksgiving !

6 comments:

rumblebug said...

Well, you've brought tears to my eyes today. And I thought I'd make it atleast one day with no crying! You are inspiring, Amanda. Thank you for putting life into perspective! Love you and miss you!

Zach said...

Can't wait to see you in a few days!

joni said...

These blogs are such a great way to record feelings and memories AND let others know you better. I loved reading this about you.

Jennis said...

this post was and is AWESOME!! You wrote it all just right. I love you and all that you are. I'm thankful that you are my sister.

mamaseversike said...

Amanda Lee, you've always been a very insightful girl. It's interesting that we have names for infant stages, and 'terrible twos' and inquisitive threes' but we quit having names for the rest of the stages of growing up. And believe you me, it's a process that continues on and on and on... Must be why some cultures revere their elders so much, they understand the growth and wisdom that comes with time on the planet. I love you, you make me very proud to be your mama.

Kirk and Jill Smith - said...

wow, that really moved me. :o) Thanks for being thankful and reminding me what wonderful blessings I have. I needed that.