The Birds

Ahh, the memories.
"The birds are coming!  The birds are coming!"  I screamed.
Like something out of a nightmarish land.
There we were out in the middle of nowhere in my Grandfather's pickup truck, riding in the back.  Thinking we were right up town.
Being from a big city, it was always a treat to visit my grandparents in their charming little town.  We would get Tall Cherry Limeades at the Fountain Drug Store and sometimes order Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.  We would walk in the creek that was icy cold until our feet were blue at a nearby State Park.  Oh wow!  Those were fun days.
One year, my grandparents decided to take us for a drive in my grandfather's pickup truck.  This was a novelty for us.  We got to ride in the back with my grandmother.  We took stuff for a tea party.  When we got out in the country, my grandfather stopped the truck so we could have our tea party.  After a little while, he tried to start the truck to go home.  It wouldn't start, or so he said.  He would have to walk to get help.  So, off he went.  No worries, we just extended the tea party.  My grandmother, my little sister and I, until...
This HUGE flock of black birds starts approaching.  Having recently watched Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds," I panicked.  I started screaming, "The birds are coming!  The birds are coming!"  Jumped in the cab of the truck, screaming, "Roll up the windows!  Hurry!  Faster!  The birds are coming!"  I think I was slightly hysterical.  My grandmother thought it was quite funny.  The truck was not really broken.  Grandfather came back.  The birds flew on by.  We went home.
Until this day, those large flocks of black birds, "caw, caw-ing"  send a chill down my spine. I want to run.  I want to scream, "The birds are coming!"
Even today, as they invaded my backyard.  The yard and trees were covered with birds.  That is a lot of birds, with twenty-six acres, my backyard is big.  They were flying into the windows.  It was really getting to me.  Kind of creepy.  But funny, that it bothers me so.

Oh, well.  You just gotta love me!

Thankfulness

I have so much, so much, so much to be thankful for!  Can't help singing that song and thinking of my friend Steve Lane.  Makes me smile every time.  By definition thankfulness means "a feeling of appreciation" or "expressive of gratitude."  So what does gratitude mean? Well, according to my dear friend Webster it means "affording pleasure or contentment" or "appreciative of benefits received" or even just "glad."  During this season of Thanksgiving, I want to share with you some of the things I am thankful for and some of the benefits of being thankful.  Maybe it will inspire you to count your blessings. 
Today, because this is America and it is an election day... I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege to vote.   People in other countries don't all get to vote or maybe they do but the elections are rigged.  It is a great privilege to vote.  I hope you did, if you are able.  I am even thankful for the fact that I live in The United States of America.  The land of the free and the home of the brave.  It is a beautiful country full of diversity and freedoms and responsibilities.  God has richly blessed this land and its people.
And because today is the 2nd of November... I am also thankful to live out in the country on a "farm."  It is so much fun, hard work, and wonder.  I learn something everyday.  Notice something new.  Stop and enjoy the world that God has created for you.  We live at such a frantic pace sometimes that we don't notice the small pleasures He places there for us. 
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” Cicero
"It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;" Psalm 92:1
Our world has little room or time for thankfulness and gratitude.  We have all but lost the art of writing "thank you notes."  Practice thankfulness today, write a note to someone thanking them for their kindness.  Smile, and sincerely tell some one "Thank You."  Take the time to notice and be thankful, it will make your day better.
What are you thankful for?