Gratitude Day #9 - Kerry's Brothers and Sisters - 9 Nov 2017

Today I am grateful for Kerry's brothers and sisters.

He grew up with ten brothers and sisters! Five brothers and five sisters!!

I can recall forty years ago when he and I flew to Utah so I could meet his family. First of all, the house was so big I wasn't sure I would ever remember where everything was.

Then, all of these people started appearing!

I grew to love them. Actually, I fell in love with them before I fell in love with Kerry. And yes, he knows this.

Kerry has often told me treasured stories from his childhood. Some were good. Some were not so good. Every type of personality you could imagine surrounded him.

Early in our marriage, I couldn't understand why Kerry didn't always answer me when I was asking a question, or just commenting on a tv show. Friend BeLinda Louise Stacks gave me the right way to solve this.

She said, "Peggy, when you grow up in a big family, you probably feel no one is actually talking to you. It's got to be someone else. So, get Kerry's attention first by saying his name or touching his arm. Then, he'll know it's him."

Bingo!

Kerry's siblings are scattered around the globe as of late. There aren't the big family gatherings at his parents' ranch in central Utah anymore. I don't really know if there will ever be any more gatherings like there used to be. Perhaps when one passes.

They're all getting older now. Kerry is 65, and he is #5 in the birth order. An older brother has already passed at age 19. And, one of his sisters passed in 2000 from ALS.

But, I am grateful for these adults who helped mold him into the person he is today. (Again, words from my mother..."if you can get along with your own family, you can get along with anyone in the world")

Gratitude Day #8 - My Five Senses - 8 November 2017

I am grateful for my five senses.

I believe they are God-given blessings to help me enjoy this world I live in.

I am grateful for my sight, for I have been able to seen some of the splendors of the earth. I have seen great vistas and tiny handwriting in historical documents. I have seen beauty, and I've seen those in pain.

I am grateful for my hearing. I learned this as I sat outside my babies' bedrooms listening to them breathe and snort. I have heard great symphonies and listened to guilt-ridden hearts. I have heard great teachings and sweet birds. I have heard grandchildren exclaim, "Grammy!!!"

I am grateful for my sense of touch. I have rubbed the back on one in tears, and had my own shoulders cradled. I have touched smooth little baby butts and kitties' fur. I have rubbed my hand over warm bread felt my bathwater sooth my aching feet after a day of speaking.

I am grateful for my sense of smell. The hills around me are filled with blossoms in the springtime, and wood smoke in the winter. I love autumn leaves burning. I love the smell of a good dinner cooking as I try to identify the ingredients. I LOVE a newborn baby's unique smell -- so fresh and clean. I love Mr. Kerry's scent after he takes a shower, for I could follow him through the house blindly. (PS...my mom loved the same thing about my dad)

I love the sense of taste most of all! Yes, I have a food habit. I have had delicacies and good ol' southern cookin'. I have had bread in the shape of swans and biscuits in a cast iron skillet. I've had caviar, and I've had a chicken I butchered myself. I've traveled every state and many countries and tasted their delicacies. Each is unique, and so good!

I suppose some senses I could live without. But, I wouldn't want to. They have helped me to partake of the goodness of this earth in so many ways.

Gratitude Day #7 - America - 7 Nov 2017

Today I am grateful that I live in America.

It's election day here in the states. It's not a huge election, like our presidential, primary, or mid-term elections. But, it still is an opportunity to make our own voices heard and be counted.

My parents took me to the Board of Elections when I turned 18 years old. They had set the example for years of how important it was to vote, so off we went. We would do the same thing for our children.

Though not recorded in their journals, my parents would often tell me how rough election day was in their neck of the woods in Kentucky and West Virginia. Going to the polls was quite the risk, for there would be arguing and even shootings.

Mom called those people "right fighters". And, mom and dad would never, ever tell me who they had voted for. They kept those cards close to their chest, for it was personal.

Kerry and I have done the same. Our kids don't even know. Some are sure we voted one way; others are adamant we voted the other way.

We just smile and nod.

Today's world is also a bit tumultous concerning elections. But, Kerry and I recently visited the Women's Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, NY -- and, we both came away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for women and men who put the wheels in motion for women to be able to vote.

So, I am home alone while Mr. Kerry is working as a poll worker. He has done this for many years, and I am proud of him. We have already voted by absentee ballot.

So, though our country is probably the roughest I have ever seen in my life, I wouldn't trade living here for anywhere else. We have been to every state, as well as several countries.

But, America is my home.

I have been to the tops of mountains and into the deepest gorges and caves. I have driven from coast to coast, and flown through the clouds looking over my beloved country.

So, this day is a day that I thank God I was born in this country. And, I hope that America can somehow heal.