I thought I would update my blog tonight and while there came across this entry from 2009 that I had saved in Drafts. After reading it I thought it surely did apply to this time of year when we give thanks for dear husbands, children, family, and our very lives. As we get along in years we change how we think...things that were never important to us as young people become so much more important as we travel along the road to our twilight years.

When I initially wrote this entry, I had just been to the doctor and given the news that I had a very bad heart. A year later, a new doctor and my heart is fine even though the medications I was prescribed I never took. I had been told I had to stop smoking (yes I really should) and couldn't have another drink ever. New ultra sound and my heart has improved and in better condition than it was a year ago.

Here is the post I found in my drafts. My mother had recently passed away and I was feeling a bit sad and, siblings came to mind, how much they do for each other and are always there when needed. . We've developed a much closer relationship since we lost our mother. All our little complaints about each other, our getting angry and not speaking have gone by the wayside.


When I started this blog with Maverick Quilters it was with the idea that yes I am a maverick. Little did I know maverick was not only in quilting per se but in who I am and how I live my life. Long ago I decided I am who I am, take it or leave it.

Today I thought a lot about my sisters/brothers, how much they mean to me, how much they do for me, how they watch out for me and are there when the need arises. I'm not getting any younger and there are times I just can't manage to do what needs doing. My youngest sister came out today and stacked a cord of wood for me. She didn't expect anything other than a hot cup o' coffee and maybe a cookie or two. My BIL lost his job a year ago and they live on unemployment, they do manage the very necessities, pay their mortgage and get by. However little goodies they can't afford. If I can help in anyway I will, so today altho' she is my sister and will help me whenever I need it, I pay her for her most gracious help. I'm a firm believer in the fact that they may be family but if you had to hire somebody for the job you needed to have done you would pay and pay very dearly.

It gives us all a time to pause and consider the very job we need to have done. What would it cost us to hire it out, who would we hire and would they be reasonable and dependable. It also gives us the thoughts that altho' they are family their time is precious to them and they could be doing something else. We also need to think about how often we take advantage of our siblings, mother, father as they have a special skill that we don't. The sister that can make a new BBQ cover, the brother who fixes the annoying little things wrong with your car, the sister who can put down flooring as good as any professional around. We all take advantage of our families even when we don't mean too. We need to think of how we would all feel if we were on the other end of the giving.

Today it's not about me or what I am accomplishing, it's about family and how much a part of our lives this very family is. My family which now is my siblings mean everything to me. Without them there is no reason to be. They provide my lifeline when John is out to sea. They are there for me, I can call at anytime and they will come.

When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, say a prayer for your family that they will enjoy a long and healthy life.