the 2 week mark

Tara, so sorry to hear you have been ill. I hope the stomach bug has moved one and you are all better.
In the two weeks of the challenge it has become obvious we share gratitude for: our families, our pets (yes, I know they are family, but they deserve special recognition), travel, apples, and the ability to blog knowing someone cares what you think. I am grateful for the great stories from each of you and I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Touch

Sorry I've been tardy, but I haven't quite been feeling good lately. Stomach bugs are mean!! I've been stymied by the senses challenge, but finally had a breakthrough. I can think of so many gifts that I've been given from touching.

Those of you that know me know I am a toucher. I always have to feel things, fabrics, carpets, I'm always touching it. And hugs! I love hugs!! Giving and receiving. But to feel something, to touch it, is to be a part of it. One of my favorite building in Chicago is the Tribune building, because they have pieces from famous landmarks from all over the world, and you can touch the pieces.

But my favorite gift has been my grandmother's thimble. When I use it to sew on buttons and such, I feel a connection to her. I can just imagine her finger in the same spot as mine, doing the same thing I'm doing. It's such a wonderful gift. So I'm very grateful for the sense of touch.

think positive

I must admit that making an effort to take everyone's actions and comments in only a positive mode made me laugh a lot more today. The one place I did have a hard time with positive thinking was while driving - Baton Rouge traffic is an experience like no other. I will try again tomorrow to think positive as I drive beautiful oak-lined Highland Road to LSU. See, that sounds better already.

Senses....

I have been thinking about which sense I want to focus on for this blog and have found it to be hard because so many times all fives senses are used at the same time. I will settle on smell for now. Many family gatherings during my life have revolved around food. I remember arriving in Shreveport to my Memaw's to the smell of red beans and rice. I always knew we were in for a treat when the steaming bowls were placed in front of us. On Christmas Eve, I would arrive at my Mama Lou's to the smell of seafood gumbo cooking. I now associate Christmas with the smell of gumbo. When I go home to my parent's house, there is usually some new recipe being tried and the smell takes over the entire house and lets me know I have arrived home. In Baton Rouge, we always wake up at least one morning to coffee(every morning), fresh cooked pancakes or biscuits, eggs, bacon, and sausage. These smells I associate with being surrounded by love. I love the smell of fresh bread, pie, gumbo and fried shrimp. I love the smell of food because it usually means good conversation is on the way with lots of laughter and hugs, and I am surrounded by family.

Five senses

The sense of smell has always fascinated me. No two people smell the same odor the same way. Your nose can smell directionally, telling you where an odor originates. A woman’s sense of smell is keener than a man’s. People recall smells longer and with greater accuracy than visual pictures. I really want to share just one “smell experience” with all of you. My dad was an auto mechanic and the aroma of varsol solvent is all it takes to make me feel loved from head to toe. As a child, I would smell that scent and know to run to the back door for a welcome hug that made the world perfect. My dad died in 1990, but twenty years later I can still feel like the most special person in the world by just walking through the repair area of any auto shop.

The last few days-

I called my uncle, of my mom's six brothers he is the only one living. When we last talked he was planning to move near his wife's oldest son. I went about my life knowing he was secure, loved, and well cared for living near his extended family. Well, the move did not occur, I believe, for finanical reasons, he did want to discuss it. While, he and his wife are fine, there is a void in their life of living apart from all their family. I hope to help fill that need. I wonder how many other people I have so easily placed in their "box" knowing all is well for them and moved on in my "busy" life. Self evaluation is never easy - but, I am grateful for the simple task, "call someone you have not talked to in a while."
The text picture Janice send me in front of her new SUV was the best. She has not only deserved a new car, but needed one for so long - think of me when you sit on that heated seat. Also, John did not teach me how to post pictures, which may be a good thing.
When the challenge said "five people," I immediately thought of my two sons, two nieces, and my nephew. But, all five have no doubt I love them, admire them, and support all their enterprises. So, I send notes or emails to two of my former professors (I have not seen since they retired), two high school friends (I have not seen in 15 years), and a church friend. All are well, and the first to respond was my church friend, who I lost touch with when she changed to First Church to allow her parent to continue attending "their" church, while she cared for them. We had spend, so many years, co-teaching Sunday school, helping in children's choir, planning fund raising, and a month each summer at Church camp. How could I have lost touch? We will be meeting for soup and salad lunch every other week for the foreseeable future.
I hope everyone has had the same positive outcome from these challenging gratitude tasks.

Thank you notes

So I sent out my thank you notes to my five people who deserved recognition. And I also want to share that a friend of mine from college, Jinger, was so inspired by the things she is reading that she has started doing the gratitude challenge on her blog as well! Here is her site if anyone is interested, and feel free to leave comments.

http://jinjer-spice.blogspot.com/

I also made my calls to a person I haven't spoken to in a while, and have to admit that it was the first challenge that I've been a little nervous about. And I love this person dearly, but we just don't talk like we used to, and I was a little nervous about the call. Strange, isn't it? But all went well.

So here is my sixth note of recognition, because I would like to thank Jennifer for inviting me to do this challenge with her. Thanks girl!! I'm loving it. Hmmm...now I'm hungry for McDonalds.