I see these well seasoned ladies playing hopscotch and cheering each other on, and realize I don’t want to ever grow up. Our golden years will be more fun if we don’t.

I can remember, fifty years ago, rushing out the school door at recess time. We packed a lot of hopscotch into 15 minutes. Or maybe it was Annie, Annie I Over, or 23 Skido0, or Dare Base, or Pump Pump Pullaway, or Steal Sticks. During the lunch hour, we could eat fast and have at least 30 minutes to continue a game we didn’t finish at recess. As much discussion was given around the supper table  to what happened during recess  that day as to what happened in the school room.  We not only got a lot of exercise, we also learned to play well with others.

It saddens me not to see kids out playing these games like we did. I wonder how many second and third graders would even recognize the names of the games in the previous paragraph.

I think back to my graduating class in 1972. There were 70 some in the class, and very few were overweight. Most of us leaned toward the thin side. Now, as I sit on the bench at Wal-Mart and people gaze, it’s not only overweight kids that walk by  – many are obese.

To be considered obese, a child’s body mass index or BMI percentile must be greater than 95%. A child is overweight if his BMI is more than 85% but less than 95%. It is estimated that 17% of children ages two through nineteen are obese.

A scientist with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that one in three children born in 2000, will become diabetic unless our habits change – meaning we need to eat wiser and exercise more.

Those are my thoughts for this week. Just what you wanted to hear after a big Thanksgiving meal, right? Well, do what I’m doing – consider putting a Ping-Pong table in the basement instead of a large screen TV. I’m not sure I’ve got my thin husband on board though or maybe he’s just scared I’ll beat him at Ping-Pong or maybe he’s grown up.

When we reflect back to the first Thanksgiving Day -we usually think of that autumn day in 1621 after the Pilgrims harvested their first season of crops here in the New World. This celebration lasted for three days. It is recorded that there were 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims in attendance. Thanksgiving celebrations after this were sporadic for many years. In 1789, George Washington called for a celebration of Thanksgiving. As a nation, the people celebrated and gave thanks for the blessings they had received that year. But, it wasn’t until 1863 that it was proclaimed a national holiday. This was during the time of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln told the people of the United States to “give thanks and praise to the beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Thanksgiving has become a time of family gatherings for many people, so much so, that those that aren’t able to spend the holiday with family often feel let down. We look around us and it seems that everyone else is either traveling to a Thanksgiving meal or hosting one in their own home. For those of us that aren’t able to be with family this Thanksgiving, we can still celebrate the reason Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday. We can give thanks and praise to our Father who dwells in the Heavens. We can use the day as a special time to reconnect with our Father. We can pray for others that are missing their families on Thanksgiving. We can pray for those in the military overseas that are defending our freedoms. We can pray for those people in the United States that don’t have the financial means to be with family. We can pray for ourselves and ask God to help us have a thankful heart.

There are many of us that won’t be with our loved ones, but we can still make the day a special day. It’s a day of Thanksgiving – whether with family or not. Enjoy and give thanks!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As I think of the things I am most thankful for, my parents come to mind. Of course, there’s the obvious reason – were it not for them, I wouldn’t be here. But it’s much more than that. My childhood was a happy one. So many children can’t say that. For every one of them that can’t, I wish I could have given them a day of mine. My sister, brother, and I grew up on a ranch with parents that loved us, taught us, encouraged us, and yes…disciplined us when we needed it. (I’m almost certain my siblings needed it more than I.) I spent many of my young days riding across the hills on Ginger or sitting on the bank of the Calamus River with my fishing pole. There was always work to do too, but we worked together and it was rewarding to see what we accomplished as a family team. The setting of my new book, “Bound by Secrecy” was largely influenced by the life I lived on the ranch. My parents bought the ranch when I was in the 5th grade. I didn’t know how I was going to leave my friends in the eastern part of the state to move “out west.” I thought my life was over! That was a big trial for me as a 5th grader, but it became one of my biggest blessings. I wasn’t very grateful for the move at the time, but it only took a summer to change that thought around .  So, this week, I just want to thank my parents for the stable upbringing they handed us, and for the wisdom they had to buy a ranch despite the fact that one of their children thought it was the worst idea ever. We are three fortunate kids.

Well, here I am this morning – minus those high heeled shoes. I’m not coordinated enough to wear such things. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure who would want to. The older I get, the more I’m an advocate for comfort. I don’t take it to extremes – like wearing pajamas to Wal-Mart; that’s just not me. Besides, I don’t really have pajamas. I have worn out thin, thin, T-shirts. You know, something that won’t add extra heat at night. Heaven forbid – I have enough of that! My husband is the cold blooded type so he thinks it’s grand to be able to snuggle up to a oven – as he calls me. We don’t really agree on room temperature. I prefer a bedroom where you can see your breath. He prefers the thermostat set at 75. The compromise is that we set the temp at 62 and I warm up his spot before he crawls in. It’s all manageable if you love each other.

I’m pretty excited that I figured this website business out. It will be a work in progress, but it will get me started. There’s some good help and advice on the Internet  – couldn’t have done it without it. My plan is to update my site with a new blog, new tidbit, and new fun photo every week. I will change it at the first of the week with hopes of making you smile. Life is full of bumps and my mission statement is “Kick the Bumps.” One of my strategies for kicking bumps is thanking God every day for the blessings I was given the day before.

Now, until next week, count those blessings.

Look Out Webpage – Here I Come

                                                                                                                 Ms. Bear reminds me alot of me this morning – except for the pink bathrobe (mine is multicolored) and the smile on her face. She is obviously doing something enjoyable at her computer – probably Instant Messaging her best friend. I, on the other hand am trying to set up my very first webpage. I think it’s a great idea for me to have a webpage since I’m about to launch my first book on Amazon in a few weeks – it’s just that I wish webpages were like miracles – they just appeared – like this very minute would be good. And then, I wish my brain knew exactly what to do with it if it came that way. But, life doesn’t work that way. And if it was that easy, I wouldn’t appreciate it, would I? Okay…I’ll keep plugging along. One day, I’ll be smiling just like Ms. Bear – the day I finish this website and am satisfied with it – hope I smile in 2015!