7. IM THANKFUL for my beautiful, good-hearted sister Annie Bananie. Shes been with me now for around 52 years or so through many things good and bad. She was the quietest and most easy-going of me three sisters growing up, spindly legged and tow-headed (Whered that blonde hair come from? Shes the only one from either mom or dads side of the family, including cousins, with blonde hair...) She very nearly died in a sledding accident on the Big Hill by our house on LaFon, where they had to remove like 2/3 of her liver. She was the first in our family to be bussed when mandatory segregation was enforced by the government when we were in high school in Louisville, prompting me and two friends to go on a bus-smashing rampage one night (which ended up in our subsequent arrests). Ann went off into the Cable TV business, rising through the ranks with her savvy business acumen until she was one of the highest-paid execs at her level in the business. My mom was so proud of her. At one low point in my life, when I was stranded in Bar Harbor, Maine, with my two youngest children, because of a job that fell through, along with a place for us to stay, Annie wired us money with no questions asked and no strings attached. And she has been just as open-hearted with others in the family who have needed help financially. (I will finally have her paid off within this year, too, by the way.) But, just to show what kind of person this woman is, my sister Ann and my mother bought a home together in Ft. Myers a few years back, just to keep our mom from having to spend her waning years in a nursing home. They built Mom her own Mom Cave, a little secluded wing to the side of the living room, near the front door, kitchen, and her chair in the TV room, where Mom, tethered by an oxygen tank, could get to all the things she needed, but still escape away to her wing when anyone got on her last nerve, which housed her bedroom, her own private bathroom, and her own computer room so she could Facebook and send us all countless emails. At the time, Annie was struggling with a medical homecare business she had just started, with all the permits and government hoops that had to be jumped through, juggling employees, PLUS she had adopted two young children, Jordan (from China) and Brian (from Viet Nam), strapped with all the duties of being a new parent. Annie was there, every minute, watching our mother slowly dteriorate, waiting on her, taking her where she demanded to go, arranging her medicines and making sure she took it, and putting up with not a small share of abuse from a dying parent, who used this one daughter as a sounding board for her fear, anger and frustrations during her end-of-life days. Annie handled it with grace and compassion. Much more than I ever could have. When Mom began falling at home, walking around without her oxygen afixed, not making it to the restroom on time, she was moved straight from a loving home with loving family into a hospice without ever spending a minute in a nursing home. All because of the sacrifices of my sister Ann. I think that is the best representation of her beautiful charcter right there. I love my sweet sister, and I AM SO THANKFUL for her. See you there for Thanksgiving, Bananie. 6. IM THANKFUL for automatic door openers at stores. Back when I was a kid we actually had to open doors ourselves. Ill never forget the first time one was installed at a store in my childhood neighborhood. People were astounded by it. 5. IM THANKFUL for all the girls Ive loved before, who traveled in and out my door. Im glad they came along, I shouldve put them in a song...all the girls Ive loved. All the girls I once caressed, and may I say Ive held the best... For helping me to grow, I owe a lot I know, to all the girls Ive loved. All the girls who shared my life, who now are someone elses wives, Im glad they came along. to show me right from wrong...all the girls Ive loved. IM THANKFUL to all the girls who cared for me. Who filled my nights with ecstasy. They live within my heart, I know Ill always be a part of all the girls Ive loved. THANKS, girls. 4. IM THANKFUL for Hersheys chocolate milk, cheese (cheddar, Philly cream, cottage, feta, goat, doesnt matter), yogurt with honey and flax, peanut butter, steamed and raw veggies, Oreos dipped in milk, avocados, Arizona iced iea with ginseng and honey, natural unsweetened fruit juices, and the occasional Reeses peanut butter cup...my favorite snacks. IM THANKFUL I live in a country where my snacks, that I can have anytime I want, would be a full meal, a luxury and a feast for many other poor souls and families around the world. For that, IM SO VERY THANKFUL. 3. IM THANKFUL for my son Chance. Born in San Jose, California, he is in the last of my five kids, the baby of the family, which meant he got a lot of loving from his brothers and sisters growing up, and still does, whenever we all get together. If youve never read his posts, they are the funniest and most clever that I get. He has a keen wit and precise sense of humor, and an insight into things I truly admire. They could be put into a book. Hes a hard worker and even became the manager of the French restaurant he worked at in his early 20s. He knows his wines, and is an incredible cook.Although he ran into a few legal problems in his late teens, of which I feel partly responsible for not being there for him more often and setting a bad example since I did the same thing myself just a few years before, he turned his life around completely, graduating from the Florida State College in Jacksonville last year. He truly is a precious angel to me. I used to tell him bedtime stories every night when he was a little boy, making them up or telling the classics, and I always used him, and his brothers and sisters, in the storylines. To this day he still asks me to tell him stories. Ive spent time with my youngest son all over the US: up and down the West Coast, to Maine, to Key West, Haiti and Jamaica, and my only regret is that we dont get to share more time together. He is always happy, and thoughtful, with a good heart, and he loves his parents. He is an absolute joy in my life. I am SO THANKFUL for my son, Chance. 2. IM THANKFUL for my bed. Some people dont have a bed. Many people around the world sleep on whatever they can find. Some peoples beds are ridden with critters. Papa Bears bed was too hard. Mama Bears bed was too soft. But Bucky Bears bed is juust riiight. Its big and soft and has a big soft white down comforter and seven soft pillows of various sizes. Sometimes the best part of my entire day is that first moment when I slide into the cool sheets and stretch out in the dark. It is heaven. And IM THANKFUL for it. 1. IM THANKFUL that Ill soon be able to have surgery. Ive had three abdominal hernias since an emergency operation around six years ago, which makes my tummy bulge and look kind of lumpy, not to mention the caustic danger of hernias , which can be fatal. I would not have been able to get health insurance on my own with that pre-existing condition, nor could I have paid for it on my own out of pocket. My only choice would have been switch careers to a company that could have taken me under their umbrella en masse, and still I may have been denied, or immediately dropped afterwards, never to be able to be insured again. Ill be able to see a doctor, and have this taken care of, in January. IM THANKFUL.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 16:08:57 +0000
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