NOT ME MONDAY!!

Inspired by MckMama and her MSC*

You see... once upon a time, there was a husband and his wife and they lived on what the wife thought was a farm -- One day, they went to the local country store and saw hundreds of baby, cuddly, fluffy and cute chickens -- because they were for sale, the wonderful, fantastic and handsome husband bought the crazy and insane wife, 12 of them -- We move forward 10 months down the road to say... um, last night -- This wife would never, no not, never have to go out in the pouring rain at 11:00 at night to shut these full grown, not so cuddly, not so fluffy and, well, maybe still cute chickens up in their house because she would absolutely not have forgotten to shut it earlier and did not discover that the house had closed itself due to lots of wind and she did not have to chase 11 (one was eaten by our beagles) chickens around in the cold and rain until they were all safely shut up in their home... Nope! Not me!

I would never neglect to have Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and this would not be because I had to work all day Wednesday and Friday and didn't have even one minute to bake, stir, fry or whatever before Thursday, so we did not have Thanksgiving Saturday all by ourselves and spend the day watching movies because it was raining outside...Nope! Not me!

We have lived in our home since last November (7th, to be exact) and I would never neglect our windows so that we look like we live in a crack house and I did not finally find the perfect window treatments and it did not take Dan and I 6 hours to do two windows and we are not totally loving that we finally live in a home and not an empty warehouse!... Nope! Not Me!

Some of you may remember I mentioned my graduation from the Master's in Counseling program in May -- Well... it took me 3 years to finish and #!&^%* odd dollars to pay for it and I absolutely did not tell my husband this week that if I had to do it all over again, I'd have gone to school to be a writer -- He did not respond with A WRITER?! You spent #!&^%* amount to get your Master's in Counseling and you'd now rather be a writer?!? Of course all was said in a (et hem) loving way and we did not laugh our arses off about it later... but since we never had this conversation... all's good in the Coker house... Nope! Not Me! :)

I am not announcing the WINNER OF MY GIVEAWAY today! So... there should not be one very excited person out there! Of course I would not be busy at all and therefore delayed gratification must arise... but SOON! ladies! Very soon!!! :)... Nope! Not Me!

*Many Small Children

Objects May Be Closer Than They Appear

For those of you who saw this picture and actually thought, even for a second, that this was my turkey, surrounded by my vegetables, on my beautifully decorated table... um, yeah... it's 9:00 a.m. -- I. think. not. -- Remember? I'm the one with clean laundry hiding in baskets obscurely around the house :) Today is Thanksgiving and clearly we Americans actually need a special day to remember to give thanks, so... I guess I'll take advantage of it --

My family -- my. entire. family. -- is in Florida, right now, even as I type -- Every year, all five siblings, our spouses, their children, and even some strays, herd to my parent's 1900's colonial style home in North Florida for 4 or 5 blissful, family-filled-fun days -- This year, I happen to be an adult who has to work, so I'm still here in NC -- (so you don't feel too sorry for me, I will see everyone at Christmas :)

Oh, wait... I was supposed to be giving thanks -- Sometimes life can seem so unfair -- I find myself wanting to complain that while I have a Master's degree, I can only find a part-time job in my profession and that I'm only getting 20 hours a week toward my licensure -- I often times dread making dinner every night for Dan and myself and hate that I have to shut the chicken house at 11:00 p.m. when it's 29 degrees outside because I forgot earlier that evening -- (I promise, I'm going somewhere with this) -- There are moments when I just want Dan to stop talking so I can hear my own thoughts and days I want to just be alone because I do nothing but deal with people all day, every day -- Every once in a while I find myself dreading checking voice mail because 3 friends or family have called and I know I need to catch up with each of them, but I'm tired because I've been working non-stop on our new home or working --

It's just that today is that day -- That day when I'm reminded to be thankful I woke up at all, that I get to see one more sunrise and sunset -- That day that I'm thankful for the opportunity to have gone to school and been able to attain a level of degree that only 7% of all Americans have -- That day when I take time to realize that I shouldn't take the food I do have to prepare for granted, because millions have nothing -- That day I stop my busy world to be thankful for the little lives all around that bring me joy when I walk out my door every morning and I'm greeted with kisses and squawks because I'm loved (I'm talking about our animals, people) --

That day I thank my God I have a husband who does talk to me, who loves me so much he can wait to tell me every detail about his days -- That day I become aware again of the privilege of touching people's lives with healing words of encouragement and hope -- That day I remember it's a rare blessing to have the amount of friends and family that I have -- That day I feel ashamed, as I have called my new home a curse one too many times, because the truth is that I'm spoiled beyond imagination with not only a beautiful house, but a home --

I. Am. Thankful. -- I realize that all the stuff, all the goals, desires and dreams still lie in my imagination... Yet, with every thank you and because of my continuous attitude of gratitude, I also know that these objects are likely closer than they may appear --

Have a FABULOUS Thanksgiving... love your families and see your curses for the blessings that they are -- (and don't forget to enter my HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY!)