Thank you ...

It's Thanksgiving weekend in 2 days and we will make the long drive to Ottawa to spend it at the home of our son and family. Our daughter and other son will join us, and for a few days we will all be together again. The children will be showered with attention, our sons will tease their sister (as they have all her life!) We will all eat too much dessert .... and I will sit back and bask in the glow of this wonderful family and reflect again on how thankful I am for them all.

Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on the many joys in our lives ... sometimes we just need to be given a specific time and told: "OK, this weekend find something to be grateful for!!" Whatever our circumstances, we can always find things in our lives for which we are thankful ... yet, some years it just takes more searching for than others.

16 years ago this weekend I had a major operation for breast cancer ... and that Thanksgiving it was very hard to find much to be thankful for. The fear and uncertainty were overwhelming. However, I now know without a doubt that having cancer made me the strong person I am today. I always think that we are each like a wonderfully coloured tapestry, and all the events we experience, be they pleasant or unpleasant, are woven into that tapestry. Many times a new pattern is suddenly added, and at first it seems out of place, awkward, not in tune with the overall design ... yet in time, we shift things about, get used to it, add new colours, and it seems to fit after a while. Sometimes we even start to think that this particular new pattern actually adds something quite unique to the finished product.

My cancer was like that for me. Of course, I would never have willingly added it to my life's tapestry - yet it came without invitation, and I somehow managed to eventually fit it in. Now, I know that it was that experience that has encouraged me to reach out and try many new things - each time adding a new and more interesting design to who I am.

I used to hate the Fall season. I never saw the beautiful colours, smell the rich pungent smells, listen to the wind in the ever-drying leaves, or find any joy in watching the leaves slowly tumble to the ground. I only saw death and decay. Without fail I would get more and more depressed as each leaf fell. I dreaded the long, cold winter that would soon follow .... how sad ... how much I missed!

Since 16 years ago, I rejoice with each Fall season ... I kick up the leaves and take as many photographs of the glorious nature around me as I can. When Winter comes, I now appreciate the quiet that descends on our woods, and adore the way the crisp snow lies on the branches of our tall evergreen trees. It's all about perspective, isn't it. 16 years ago mine was changed, and I am thankful.

None of us knows what lies around the bend of life ... but, we know what we have now, and with a glad and grateful heart I will enjoy every moment of this weekend with my family, and say yet another silent prayer of thanks for this wonderful day. I hope you will too ...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!