As most of you know its been a year full of losses for me.  Even addressing
my Christmas card was sad, changing the list to reflect those who are gone.

And I'm getting past the age for finding new things to be thankful for.  So
for a while anyway, until my heart catches up, I will be thankful for what
is left.  For voluntary hugs from Grandsons who have decided they aren't too
old to hug Grandma after all.  For friends I can still "understand" even
when I can't understand their words.  For places that are familiar and
comfortable.  For a car that runs.  For a house that is warm in the winter
and cool in the summer.  For a marriage that works for us, no matter what
others may have thought of it over the years.  And as always for a future
that will always have joy and sorrow, work and worry and fun and adventure.
Just as it always has.

Jo

I am grateful for being alive, having wonderful friends who I have met
physically, and through the "meeting of the minds" that we share in
this forum. I am thankful for "you" those friends in cyberspace on
whose shoulders I could cry and whose strength I could lean when times
were tough.

That I was able to rekindle old friendships last month was magical for
me and I keep thinking about my birth place, so maybe there is a trip
back there on the horizon.

I am thankful that, my mother survived a bad situation and came out
the other end better. It was almost as though the fire renewed her
purpose in life, and rejuvenated her because she was not happy where
she was and was not moving forward. Something positive came out of it
all.

    Rose   @}>->--
    Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

    Please remove "Ima" to reply.

Great idea Mary.

I'm thankful for my wife and two children.  I can't imagine life without
them.

I'm thankful for all of my friends, both here and in the "real" world.

I'm grateful for those occasional moments when the pain is forgotten and joy
and laughter fill my soul.

I'm thankful for my relationship with my Father and His Son.  It is these
relationships that allow me to know that, when I leave this life, I will
find joy and Love upon my return to my heavenly home.  And it is because of
the strength they provide my family that I know they will be OK without me
for a time.

But most of all I am grateful for my knowledge that our family is eternal
and does not end at death.  That gives me the strength to endure and push
on.

Walt
Merry CHRISTmas

I am exceedingly grateful for us getting GOOD health insurance/Rx insurance &
dental insurance this fall!

I am grateful that everything seems to be finally falling into place for
Mike's career in the priesthood and very glad that we chose to follow God's
call through the really difficult times.

I am very grateful that the tree that fell on my Mother's house during
Hurricane Jeanne missed the main living areas and especially missed the areas
of the house were she and I were at the time.  I'm also grateful that she has
good homeowner's insurance, enough money to pay what it didn't cover, and
lots of good friends and neighbors locally to help out, including the folks
who are renting temporary living quarters to her.

I am grateful for good friends like Tina and Kimmy who provided chauffeur
service around Akron when the albatross (new name for our Caravan) was
getting a transmission transplant.

As I look out at the snow falling here, I am grateful for having a solid
house to live in with a working heater and plenty of food to eat.  So many in
the world don't have this.

I'm grateful for all the recent advances being made in breast cancer research
so maybe the daughter of my friend Edith won't be the third generation in
their family to be taken by cancer.

And I am always grateful that I've had internet access all these years so I
could get to know so many wonderful people here on ASA.

I am grateful for the strength of a marriage that lasted through the
toughest time of my life, when Rachel was in the hospital, and then deepened
to something eternal.

I am grateful for the family and friends who didn't desert us as if epilepsy
might be catching, but were always there, offering to help and calling to
see if we needed anything.

I am grateful for truly good, compassionate doctors and the insurance that
allowed us to have only the best possible care and medication.

I am grateful for six months of no seizures and a child who can think
straight, isn't sick all the time from meds., and is at the top of her class
once again.

I am thankful for this group and the love that is shared and expressed on a
daily basis. I am grateful that I chose to take a chance and be a part of
the greeting card exchange during my first holiday season with the group. It
opened up my small world to a big world of awesome people.

My gratitude list goes beyond the previous year, but so many things in my
life happen over long periods of time and are more than immediate. Some take
a long time to resolve.

Kelly C.;o)

I'm thankful for my family.  My daughters who have become beautiful
women and have become my friends.  My sons who honor their father and
mother.  My mother, who has come through two surgeries this year.  My
brothers, who have taken care of my mother when I couldn't be there.  My
sister, who is growing closer every year in spite of the miles between
us.  My grandchildren, who love me like I love them... just because!  <G>

I'm thankful for my husband who has stayed with me through all the
trials and traumas of these last 30+ years.

I'm thankful that even though I lost my oldest friend in October, I had
the opportunity to see her one last time last year.  Yes, it makes me
cry when I remember every Christmas concert we sang or played in
together, every caroling trip we shared, the sights and sounds and
smells of Christmas we saw and heard and breathed in together, but I'm
so thankful we had those times.

I'm thankful that my friend Toni survived her latest life-threatening
illness.  I'm thankful that I was given the strength to be with her
through that and through the roughest month of her life last May.

I'm thankful for my other friends.  Though we are scattered around the
country we are truly connected, and they are 'there' for me, as I hope I
am for them.

And I'm thankful for Mary Z, who reminded me to count my blessings
instead of my woes.

thanks for starting this, mary.

i'm grateful that i met john early this year and that he was patient enough to
wait for my fears/indifference to subside.

i'm grateful for my 3 loving stepdaughters and my 3 compassionate siblings.

i'm grateful to my ex-husband for doing the necessary paperwork to be sure i
would  have access to govt. health insurance for the rest of my life.

i'm grateful to my ex's new wife for accepting me as a continuing part of my
stepdaughters' lives.

i'm grateful that i can make a living at work i love and that i am physically
able to do that work.

i'm grateful that having rheumatoid arthritis awakened my dormant spiritual
side.

i'm grateful that i can carry a tune well enough to sing with my amazing
interfaith choir.

i'm grateful that i have many friends who love me even when i can't find time
to get together with them.

i'm grateful that my parents raised me the way they did.

wow, i could go on and on! i am also grateful for asa. the last decade would
have been far more difficult without you guys.

diane

I am grateful for this country and the freedoms we have,
including being able to worship where I choose.

I am grateful for having met Mary at church and the bond
we have forged.

I am grateful for my sons, their wives and the grandkids.

I am grateful for the health I still have in spite of A.S. (and
can still square dance).

I am thankful that I decided to remain in and retire from the
USNR, and now have TriCare medical coverage for what
Medicare doesn't cover.

I am grateful for the mild weather this region of the country
has.   (Where else can one swim in the ocean in the A.M.
and frolic in the snow in the P.M.?)   <g>

I am grateful for a husband that loves me in spite of
myself.

I am grateful for a place to come [ASA] and the friends
I have made here.

I am grateful for my healthy children.

I am grateful for the scientist and doctors doing
research which pushes us closer and closer to a cure.

I am grateful for my medications, all 6 zillion of
them, and the insurance which helps pay for them.

And I am grateful that there is such a thing as a new
knee which will let me dance again.
Duckie

I'm grateful for hubby's undetectible psa tests. I'm grateful for those rare
days when the kids are getting along. I'm grateful that my health is okay.
I'm also grateful for the beautiful place I live in and all of the wonderful
friends we have made here in a relatively short time. I'm most grateful for
my husband, the wonderful partner, father and friend that he is.

I am grateful for this group. There is no other like it. You are one great,
caring, supportive, loving group of people and I love you all.

I am grateful for my hubby, the fact that we still have a roof over our
heads and food to eat and such loving caring friends.

I am grateful that we still have health insurance and that I have a dr that
is really trying to get to the bottom of all this. Even if I do get
impatient at times. ;-)

I am grateful for having healthy sons.

I am grateful that I can still call friends, on my free minutes, and send
cards out to try to spread some cheer.

I too am grateful that my parents raised me to be the way I am also. I am
glad they instilled in me to think of others.

I am greateful that I still am alive, can see the sunsets, hear the birds,
see the children run and play, have the sense of feeling, being able to
taste food, to breathe, to walk, etc.

I am grateful for all the miracles and answer prayers I have seen happening.

I agree with Walt and am grateful also for my relationship with my Father
and His Son. I know if it were not for him and for ASA that I would never
have made it thru the last few years.

I am sure there are more things that I am grateful for but am forgetting
them right now.

I am grateful for my sense of humor, it sees me thru alot too.