Being Thankful

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here – time sure has flown by fast this year. I haven’t posted much lately, again that thing called life seems to catch up with me. I want to wish everyone a very happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. As I reflect back on this year, it has been a whirlwind of a year – many moves in our family with me being the first to my new adventure in Michigan. Syd and Mal both moved twice this year and sometimes I felt that my calling should have been that of a professional packer and mover. We survived all of the packing, lugging, straining, long drives to Detroit, Potsdam and all over Columbus with a sense of accomplishment. In looking back at this year I realized even though it was a trying year I have so much in my life to be Thankful for.
I am thankful for a family that is loving and caring and that is always looking out for each other no matter what

the circumstance or obstacle. A family that loves one another unconditionally and communicates daily whether it be through a group text, a call or even a FaceTime session, though many times when I’m in Ohio I’m forced to follow around two big cats for my daughters to see and oooh and aahhh over – they sure miss their fur babies. I’m thankful that I have two of the greatest daughters a Dad could ever have been blessed with, both are truly extraordinary young women that are taking on the world; both in their own way. I’m also thankful for my extended families – how many families are fortunate enough to get together every year for a weekend family reunion? My Proctor side gathers together every September to celebrate the blessings of being a family with usually 100-125 people attending, it truly is a blessing, we then turn around in October and gather for a day of apple butter and memory making. I am thankful for my Reed family too, though I don’t get the opportunity to see them very often we still communicate and stay in touch through texts and social media, we love each other and we are Thankful for that. I’m thankful the many generations of cousins and family I have across this nation. Families are not just defined by blood, my new Michigan family of Joey at Great Lakes Coney Island – Michigan Family Joey, George, Colin, Cathy, Taylor and the rest of the employees at Great Lakes Coney Island make me smile every day when I walk through their doors, they greet me warmly and I truly love each and every one of them – for one hour a day (and sometimes coffee after work) I get to spend time with some amazing, funny and caring people that I’m very happy to call “family”. I am Thankful for Family!
I have been employed for the past 32 years for a company that I truly am happy to work for. It has been a long road with many challenges but I’m proud and thankful for having been a part of the company success. I’m thankful to be able to come to work every day, never dreading going to work to a job I really enjoy – it’s a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t have moved to Detroit had it not been! I am lucky and blessed to have a team that has fun, works together and has each other’s backs, the true meaning of a great team that gets the job completed. I’m also fortunate to have very supportive personnel on the corporate level that I have become great working comrades with and even some as friends, Sandy I’m lucky to call you my friend as well – I’m thankful for Jason, Keva, Mick, Dan and John. I am Thankful for my Job!
I truly have always cherished my friends and the relationships we have. Though distance keeps me from many of them our bond is strong and I cherish the years we have been friends. When we are together it’s as if time has stood still and we pick right back up from where we left off the last time we were together. Whether it be Marie in Singapore or Jerry in California; Jona in Tennessee or Amy in Ohio; Debbie in West Virginia or any number of friends I’ve made in my life where ever they may be – our friendships are made of mutual understanding, though we all don’t see eye to eye on such things as politics or even religion, when we’re together those differences don’t matter or affect how we feel about each other. There are people that I have become friends with in recent years and since moving to Detroit that I cherish as much as my friends I’ve known my entire life. I am Thankful for Friends.
I thank God everyday for my many blessings which include my parish of St. Alphonsus Liguori and especially for having been blessed with a pastor – Father Ron that not only leads us in faith but allows us to be human as he reflects his personality through humor. He is truly a man of God! Im Thankful for my Faith.
I am a proud West Virginian, Ohioan and now a Michigander (though I won’t be rooting for anything blue on the 24th!) my heritage is an important part of who I am and the thread that makes up my coat of many colors. I am thankful that I had loving grandparents that taught me the meaning of family that handed down their customs, beliefs, morals, ethics and values. Grandmothers that have given me the gift of being able to follow one of their recipes or the ability to open up the refrigerator and throw a bunch of stuff together and make it an edible meal. I am proud of the traditions that they instilled on me my entire life and continue to do so today. My grandparents along with my parents are gone from my life on earth, but they are there beside me daily guiding me and encouraging me with every step I take. Though the holidays are a struggle without them – I take pride in knowing that my Grandma Reed is smiling down upon me every year when I make her stuffing and the pan is licked clean. They are gone but not ever forgotten. I am Thankful for Being Me and those that attributed to that!
No matter what you’re Thankful for this year, the importance of Being Thankful and Thanking God and the people you love and work with is what makes Thanksgiving the day it is! Now go and enjoy a couple recipes that I have shared including my Grandma Reed’s Stuffing and may God Bless you always!