Thankful

Wow...what a past few month it has been.  The 22nd of this month marked the 6 month anniversary of the May 22nd tornado that devastated our home town.  Since then...a few major businesses have rebuilt.  Some have decided to jump ship and head to different ground (i.e. other towns).  Some homes have started to be rebuilt while others are still standing in the same destroyed condition as they were 6 months ago.  The marks and scars of the tornado are everywhere.

We were lucky.  We have a new roof and some new exterior paint, but our house was still standing when the twister moved on and for that I am very thankful.

Fast forward to September.  We were getting excited to be heading to Walt Disney World to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.  As the 1-week mark approached in our countdown, we were confronted with the news that my father-in-law needed emergency quintuple bypass surgery.  His age and health also presented post-op complications and his condition was touch and go for about 3 days.  Our Disney trip then became iffy.  But I am thankful to report that he dramatically improved on day 4 and we were able to go on the trip.

As we took off at the Branson Airport and started heading down to Orlando, we were flying through severe storms that had built up around the area and, for the first time in my life, our plane suffered a direct lightning strike.  I am thankful to report the plane was unharmed and we made it to our destination.

Now again fast forward to November.  I found out on a Sunday morning that my aunt was not going to recover from complications associated with Lupus and she would be taken on life support that morning.  I am thankful that my dad was able to fly out to California at the last minute to spend a few moments with his sister before she passed away.

Then...the following Sunday, I was awaken by a phone call that let me know that my 93 year old grandmother had passed away.  So some quick packing took place so we could make the trip out to California in order to attend her funeral.  I am thankful for the life she lived and the example she showed for me to follow.

So needless to say I am thankful that November and frankly 2011 is almost over.  I am hoping the Mayans were somewhat correct and the planet is about to get a do-over in 2012 because I am ready for one.

I think I need to blog more...