Be aware of what your gifts are.

I was bummed  today!  Today is Ashley's birthday and Skype wasn't working!!  So, we couldn't talk to her on her birthday.  When we both figured it out, we at least were able to "IM" via Yahoo.  Hopefully, Skype will be and running tomorrow and Christmas. 

There was a really good article in Sunday's Charlotte Observer that I would like to share with you.  It kind of hit home with me and maybe it will give you some food for thought.

"No going back:  Winter is Here" by Barbara Thiede
Snow is falling outside.  Though it is not likely to last, it is a sign:  There is no going back.  Winter has arrived.  It is too late to replace the bushes I had wanted to pull out this fall.  It is too late to plant more daffodil bulbs.  I have faced "too late" other times this year.  When my beloved mother-in-law ... died unexpectedly last summer, it was too late for things I had had to postpone. .... To be with her was to know the essence of the word "homey."  I would have liked to have that sort of feeling another time, a last time.  Her death has made me especially conscious of my own life as a mother, and the way it, too, has sped by.  ... Days after she died, her sister told me my mother in law often said how she missed her son, my husband.  Only then did I realize, with a clutch in my heart, what her generosity must have cost her.  He had left home at 23 to come to me in America.  In the next 30 years, she would see him less than once a year.  She never complained about how far away we were.  (My son) is 19.  I imagine him living far away ... The pain hits right in my sternum.  I would not have her strength to bear the loss with grace and patience.  I would complain and cry.  ... It is too late for one last meeting.  But it is never too late to acknowledge, again, how we loved her.  So we do.  Every night we say a prayer for her.  May we all be aware of the time we have now, what our gifts are, how we love now.

If you would like to read the entire article, you can find it HERE.

I am going to try and be aware of what my gifts are and look at the glass half full and not half empty.  Instead of being so upset that I wasn't able to skype with Ashley, I am thankful I was at least able to "IM" with her.  When my son, Jeff was in Korea and also in Baghdad, we didn't have all this technology to be able to talk to each other.  I was so thankful when he was able to get to a telephone and make a call home.   When he was in Korea at Christmas, I was a basket case!  That was the first time our family had not been together at Christmas.  I guess I'm getting used to it now but I don't like it!!

What about you?  Are you thankful for the gifts you have?