By Vicki Scott
The Thanksgiving holiday should be a time to be thankful for our blessings. We are supposed to focus on what is good, but sometimes it is difficult. I once heard that loved ones tend to pass away during the holidays. That was true of both my father and mother’s birthdays. That fact would put me in a funk if I’d ever had the time to think about it. Time is my worst enemy, anyway.
Starting our exercise class in here in Dadeville has lifted my funky status and once again made me thankful. Several ladies in our group have lost loved ones, and we’re covering each other in prayer every day. The shoes they had had to fill were enormous, but each lady has stepped up to the challenge.
The seniors and faculty at George Wallace Seniors Center in Glencoe were always supportive when I worked there, and I still feel their prayers lifting me up. Except from family members, I thought that I would not see this much love when we moved back to Dadeville, but I was wrong. The motto at our church is, “We are better together.” Together, we are counting our blessings. The seniors even suffer through bingo games with me from time to time.
This Monday and Tuesday, we will have our oldest granddaughter, Sweet Ava Jaymes. She loves bingo and has been wanting to see the seniors again at George Wallace Senior Center. She asked about them a lot. We will see what our future holds. I know if we do get back to Glencoe, there will be a whole separate list of blessings to count.
Thanksgiving Day has been a blessing every year for the past 36 years except for one year, which ended up a blessing because of our Greek side of the family. The other years were a feast at my in-laws. My husband’s mother hosted Thanksgiving until her death, upon which time my sister-in-law took over. My mother-in-law could cook like no other. Our children ate all her food and loved it. Paw Paw, my father-in-law, kept everyone entertained. He was a hoot! All of those places featured amazing food and fellowship.
We usually try to get a family picture of the whole family at these events. Come to think of it, we have not gotten a picture made since my mother died. She was the last of our children’s grandparents. When we do take it, we’ll purposely leave a space for my mom between my son Joseph and son-in-law Trey, whom my mom loved the most. My dad would be smiling at all the attention heaped on my mom. He did like to laugh.
While recently exercising with my seniors at Reeltown, I learned to plan my battles ahead of time and think them through. I just thought through one with you in this column. I’m now smiling and looking forward to Thanksgiving with a thankful heart. I’m thankful for the good memories and joyful at the thought of how each deceased family member would act if they were with us in person. I’m thankful to God for giving me memories with them. Along with all my family, friends, and both sets of seniors, including the ones who play bingo and the ones who do not.
By the time they read this column, I might have already been up to visit the seniors at the George Wallace Senior Center. Either way, my prayers are will you, along with a piece of my heart. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Vicki Scott may be contacted at lily200383@yahoo.com.