Abundant Blessings Now and In the Past

Abundant Blessings

Dear Grandchildren,

Soon it will be Thanksgiving, when families gather to offer thanks for their many blessings. What a year this has been for our family.

What a year this has been for every family.

So far over 10,000 Kentuckians have died as a result of Covid. In the U.S. over 763k. Those statistics make my heart ache. Just knowing there are so many families who will have empty chairs at the table this holiday season is enough to make even the strongest among us cry. In a way I guess you could call this year, “The Year of Goodbyes.”

Three of my precious grands saw the loss of a grandparent this year. And while it wasn’t to Covid, loss of life for any reason is just as devastating. H. M. and Patty are my son-in-law’s parents and over the years we have developed a love and closeness that runs deep. H. M. was a wonderful Grand-dad and attended as many sports events and school functions of his grandchildren as his health would allow. The time he spent with them will stay with them throughout their lives.

Knox was at my store the other day and he was looking in the toy section when he spied a set of Checkers. “Grand-dad and I used to play Checkers,” he whispered solemnly. I had to look away and wipe my eyes. Even writing about it now makes me cry. I just dropped a few tears in my laptop….probably not a good thing.

Anyway, long after we are gone the memories linger and H.M. will be missed by all.

This past year has brought us some tough times but through it all I have felt the hand of God holding me up. God is good all the time, through good times and bad.

A few weeks ago we had a leak in our ceiling and water streamed through the attic and into our bedroom. We had to have help cleaning up the mess and we haven’t started repairs yet. To say my house is a little upside down right now would be an understatement. Bill’s dresser is in the kitchen and mine is in the piano room so finding socks and underwear has been a “seek and find” mission. The earliest our ceiling will be repaired will be sometime in December and then it still has to be painted.

The thought of trying to cook and have a house full of people in the midst of this chaos might seem daunting and I admit I had a moment of panic when I tried to envision it happening. Then I thought about everything our family has been through this year and it doesn’t matter if we sit in the floor and eat Beanee Weenees…as long as we are all together. Of course if we sit in the floor someone will have to help Poppa and me get up. One thing we learned while sleeping on a mattress on the den floor (after our bedroom ceiling fell in) is that old people who get up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom need to be elevated or else they will have to crawl their way to a standing position.

I have so many abundant blessings to be thankful for. My husband survived Covid. My brother survived a horrible automobile accident. My church family, my community and my friends and family are loving and supportive. And oh how I love you, my grandchildren! You are my sunshine on a cloudy day!

I had a dream this week about my cousin Martha. In my dream we were young and in college, getting ready to go somewhere. She was wearing sandals and I vividly remember looking at her feet, probably because my feet are so hideous and hers were pretty. I miss her so much and I miss my grandparents and parents. While I am so thankful for my family, I can’t help but miss the ones who are no longer here. I give thanks and praise to God for all the years I did have with each of them. Those years were full of abundant blessings, too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, Grandchildren. You are so loved and cherished and FYI-Nana won’t feed you Beanee-Weenies for Thanksgiving. Promise.

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Nana