Thanksgiving

Fall is Here

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cherrys iphone 031October is my favorite month.  The cooler temperatures, the fall decorations and pumpkins all around.  I love the smell of pumpkin spice and cranberry candles.

I love the fall decorations, and the change in the air.  Although, I love Halloween, the dressing up, the fun and games, the spooky stories, roasting marshmallows and drinking hot cocoa by the fire.

We are having cooler temperatures here already.  I love that too.  It also means that my favorite holiday will be here soon.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It’s a time of family, friends and togetherness.  A time to get together and enjoy each others company and good food.

I love fall.

Cherry Coley (c)

 

Quote Jan 29, 2013

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“There is little to be learned by doing nothing. When you conceive an idea in which you fervently believe, go after that idea – especially if people you respect believe it’s a good one. Hang in there and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!” – Zig Ziglar

Take a moment today to be thankful for the blessing in your life.  Be thankful for your job, your family and friends, the roof over your head, the ability to read, and learn.  There are so many things we take for granted each day.  Look around you today and be thankful.

I am thankful for you.  No one can ever take your place, you are unique, one of a kind.  Only you have the ability to do the things you do the way you do them.  Only you know all the people in your life that you can touch with a simple act of kindness.  You can make a difference.

Cherry Coley (c)

December!!

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Cherry's Camera Dec 2010 008December is here already.  It is hard to believe we have arrived at the last month of the year so soon.  Now is a good time to look at where you are, what you’ve accomplished so far this year and see if there are any last minute projects that you can wrap up before the year ends. 

 This is has been a difficult year for many people due to illness and loss.  It’s been a year of struggle for many who are still looking for work or trying to get back on their feet from having been without a job for a long while.

 Each year has its challenges that we will either rise to meet or let over take us, how we respond is our choice.

 

December is a time when I like to look at the progress made throughout the year.  That’s when I take the time to really look at things, could I have done something different? Would the results have been different if I had chosen a different approach?  What did I learn and how can I improve on things for the next year?

 Take some time today to be thankful for the blessings and events of this past year.  Be thankful for the people you’ve met along the way, and the lessons you’ve learned, even if they weren’t too pleasant.  Take some time to appreciate 2012, for we will never walk this path again. 

 Then start setting your sights on the future, 2013 is going to be a great year! 

 Cherry Coley ©

 

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What’s It All About?

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What is Thanksgiving?  A tradition, a celebration and reminder of a good harvest to be enjoyed with family, friends, and neighbors.  A time to thank God for a good year.

This year it was a time for the retail stores to promote their latest wears and sales, to tempt shoppers to choose between time with family and rushing to the stores.  How sad that it has come to this.  What about the workers in the stores who really wanted to stay home with their families, but were told they had to come in? 

I don’t like how commercial Thanksgiving was this year.  It is disappointing and disturbing.  Not only that, but it shows how commercial Christmas has become.  In surveys taken there were 48% of the people who now wish they could just skip Christmas.  Why? Because it’s become a time of greed, seeing what you can ask for and get for Christmas, trying to out do each other on presents, and racing out to get the latest toys.

I love the holidays.  I love the traditions we had growing up and have fought to keep them alive.  Our family doesn’t have all the latest technology, or the highest priced items.  We don’t go into debt for 6 months to pay for Christmas presents that are over the top, or spend until all the savings are gone.

So today, I am thankful I grew up at a time when Thanksgiving was about getting together with family and enjoying the time spent listening to each other.  I am thankful I grew up believing in the magic of Christmas as well as the true meaning and remembering the first birthday of Jesus.  I am thankful for Christmas eve church services with Christmas carols, and a quiet thankful spirit.

I remember many soft and quiet winter nights watching the lights on the Christmas tree, with Bing Crosby playing in the background. 

Today I am thankful for family traditions, may they live on in spite of commercialism.  It is my hope that we will slow down and take the time to remember, Christmas is not about the gifts, Thanksgiving is not about the food, both holidays are about one things only and without that thing, they become hollow – empty.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are about love, honest and true, caring and kind, love.

Cherry Coley (c)

 

 

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Sa-weet!! Sweets!

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Today I am thankful for candy.  I love all kinds of candy and there are so many kinds that you will probably never be able to try them all.

 I love walking into a candy store and smelling the sweet flavors in the air, and the way different candy stores smell.  The smell of a salt water taffy shop is sugary elation, but it cannot come close to walking into a chocolatiers like Godiva.  The smell of chocolate is sensual and sweetly intoxicating.

 My mom used to make divinity and chocolate fudge every year around Christmas and keep the candy bowls full.  We also made peanut brittle to give away as treats for teachers.

There are many fond memories associated with candy, from shopping for it and trying it in the candy shops to making it in the kitchen at home.  Candy is not just sweet to the taste, but a treat to make memories.  I am thankful to have sweet memories and plan to make many more.

 Cherry Coley ©

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Thankful for Family

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Today I am thankful for my children.  Though they sometimes make my head spin and cause messes, they are also the two people who keep me going at times when I’d really rather stop. 

 I can’t say that we are perfect in the way we approach things, we definitely fall out of what is considered the “norm.”  Still home is a place where we can all find comfort, joy, and peace. 

 I am thankful for our family, though we are few; we still stick together and help each other.  I also appreciate my extended family.  Those people who are my friends and as close as family, I would not be able to function without them. 

There’s no such thing as loving someone too much.  Take a moment today to let the people in your life know how much they mean to you.  Don’t let the opportunity to say I love you pass you by. 

Cherry Coley ©

Thankful for Small Acts of Kindness

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Today I am thankful for small acts of kindness.

 Every act of kindness is like ripples on water, the effects are far reaching and potentially endless.

 I am thankful I am healthy and can offer a helping hand to the elderly if they need it at times.  I am happy to open a door for someone else or offer a kind word and a smile in the elevator.  I enjoy saying and hearing “Good Morning” to my co-workers and friends, both in person and on Face Book. 

 More than any of those things I am thankful that others also appreciate small acts of kindness.   Phrases like “please” and “thank you” can make a difference in what someone might be thinking about a situation or having to be slightly inconvenienced.

 I love to watch a son or daughter helping their parent in the store.  It reminds me of visits to the store with my mom.  While she was looking around the fruit and vegetable section, my daughters and I would divide up the rest of the list and bring it back to her.  This saved time, allowed her to look for her produce at her leisure, and kept her from getting too tired.

 Small acts of kindness can cause a person to pause, sooth an angry or upset spirit even on really bad days.  I have on occasion paid the toll for the person behind me on the toll way, or paid a cup of coffee for a stranger just because.  I once saw a priest pay for a book and rosary for a small child.

Small acts of kindness are like a tiny nudge or whisper saying “everything is going to be alright.”  My wish is that you would be touched by a small act of kindness each day and you will pass on the blessing.

 Cherry Coley ©

 

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Stealth Mode

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I was in Wal-Mart last night picking up some groceries, when I suddenly spotted the turkeys.  They were there in the freezer just like they are every year, but this year is different.  A cold chill ran up my spine and into my heart as I stared at them.  This is the first Thanksgiving my parents won’t be here.

 I swerved up a different isle trying to keep the tears from coming and feeling the waves of grief that comes with them.  It didn’t help; everywhere I looked there were more reminders.

 Then I started getting texts from my friend and (used to be) neighbor.  He had spotted my car in the parking lot and Lindsey sitting in it.  He said “hi” to her then started texting me as if he were stalking me in the store.  It was so funny it made me laugh.  He told me he was looking for me and if he found me I would have to pay for his groceries. 

 We went in stealth mode through the store, I checked out first and made it to the car. Whew!

 I texted him to let him know I made it, he laughed and said, “dang it!”

I am thankful for my friends with amazing sense of timing and a wonderful sense of humor.  You just can’t beat that.

 Cherry Coley ©

Just Being Me

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Today I am thankful I am me.

Saying I am thankful I am me sounds a bit conceited perhaps, but I am truly thankful that we are each of us wonderfully and individually made.  There’s not a single person that is identical to another person inside and out.

 What a great gift to wake up in the morning and realize today we have the opportunity to show the world who we are.  We can use our talents, work our hardest, give our best, be goofy, and be authentic. 

 No matter who you are or what your station in life might be, realize that there is only one you.  No one else can ever take your place.  You have a purpose, a reason you are here.  Don’t give up or let yourself become complacent, the world needs you, we need you.

Look in the mirror today and say, “Today, I am thankful I am me.”   Then let the people in your life know you are thankful for them.

 Cherry Coley ©

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The Land of the Free

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I am thankful to live in America.  We have our issues, our challenges, disagreements, victories and failures as a country, but we still have a belief that a democracy is the best way to live.

I am thankful to live in a land where I am free to search for knowledge and research topics as I feel the need.  A land where I can choose how, where and when I worship and who.  A land that allows me to vote for public officials to represent my interests.  A country that allows it’s people to be creative, to make businesses and search for jobs freely.

I am thankful to live in a place where we can celebrate, or choose not to celebrate holidays.  A place where people can be generous, show kindness to others and voice their beliefs or choose to disagree and not be sentenced to death for doing so.

America is not perfect, the system is not flawless, and never will be.  Our government, our country is run by people and people make mistakes.  Yet, I am thankful to be here now, at this moment in time. 

Let us cling to the things that make America great, be thankful to those who are fighting for our freedom and way of life.  Let us not forget our troops and their families, but show kindness, generosity and offer a helping hand. 

While we’re at it let us remember the storm victims, and those in need all around us.  Even the smallest person can make a difference if their heart is in it.  The holidays are coming, remember the spirit of Thanksgiving, wouldn’t it be nice if you are the person others are thankful for.

Cherry Coley (c)

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