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I am very grateful for all that I have – even in a bad year

November 28, 2009 by JD
Filed under: Family, Friends, Holidays, Murphy NC 28906, Murphy North Carolina, Musings, Personal

I’m not going to lie about it.

2009 has been a very difficult year for me, but it could have been much worse.

My home is not the home of my dreams, but it gives me a place to live until I can earn enough to buy or build the home I dream of.

This old house is where my parents retired in the early 1970s. They left Atlanta and moved to Murphy, NC. They loved living here, even when times were tough.

Pop died in the summer of 1991 and Mom died last year, just before Thanksgiving.

Both of them have been on my mind a lot this month.

Mom’s birthday was November 6; their anniversary was November 25; Thanksgiving was a couple of days ago. It’s been a month of memories and being thoughtful about what is important in life.

Both of them worked hard all their lives and were quite a bit healthier and stronger in their latter years than I am now. It gives me something to work towards – better health.

Both of them had serious health problems earlier in their lives and they still managed to mostly overcome them over time.

Pop broke his back when he fell off a crane onto a truck’s roof. For years he could do very little. Still, many years later, he could easily outwork me.

Mom had trouble with her legs for most of her life, but that didn’t stop her from doing what she wanted, until her cancer surgery caused nerve damage and she was no longer able to walk unassisted.

So, I can look back on my illness earlier this year and think “poor me” all I want, or I can continue to do what I can to get around and rebuild my strength.

Sometimes life just isn’t easy. It’s the challenges that make us stronger and help us develop real character.

So, maybe that’s what I’m working on now – character.

Money is tight, but I’ve managed to find something to eat for over 57 years while fending off everything that tried to eat me, so I guess that’s some measure of success.

(I’m not sure who said that originally, but I read it some time back and liked it enough to paraphrase it for myself.)

I love living here in Murphy. Sometimes it’s hard to earn a living here, but other people in other areas have had it tough, too. We do what we have to do to survive.

I’ve decided that I want to help others as I help myself and that’s why I’ve dedicated myself to building the best marketing system for locally-owned small businesses in Murphy, NC. You can see the start of it at Murphy Gold and Murphy Connections. Over time, it will get better and better and I look forward to helping small business owners in our little mountain town market their businesses to a wider audience.

While I may not have all I need right now, I do have a plan and I’m working on that plan every day. It gives me something to work towards and that’s important.

Thanksgiving was an interesting day. I spent the day alone, but I still had contact with family and friends online and over the phone.

Several friends called to see how I was doing and to wish me a happy holiday.

I was in touch with family even though I didn’t see them in person.

I was alone, but not lonely. Memories of past holidays gave me good feelings and I smiled quite a bit during the day.

Even though I may not be able to visit my brother and his family this year, I’ll think of them often.

I’m looking forward to Christmas breakfast at my daughter’s house and spending time with that branch of my family. Christmas will be here before we have a chance to turn around a few times.

Would I have enjoyed a house full of people and a table loaded with traditional Thanksgiving food this year? Of course, I would.

But, I’ve done that many times over the last few decades, so missing it now and then really isn’t such a big deal.

I’m grateful for all I have and I intend to redouble my efforts to rebuild my marketing business to where I’ll be enjoying prosperity instead of mere survival.

As we enter into this major winter holiday season, I hope you’ll reflect on all that you have and all the good memories of times and people who have helped shape your life.

We all have a lot to be thankful for.

All the best,

Tags: gratitude, Thanksgiving

Comments

3 Comments on I am very grateful for all that I have – even in a bad year

Mitch on Mon, 7th Dec 2009 12:34 am

You’re definitely seeing things in the proper perspective, John. You’re right, it has been a tough year, and I’ve had my struggles in keeping it all together at times myself. Still, I only allow myself to stay down for a short period, then it’s time to get back to work.

Now, if I could only remember what it feels like to play again.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..Thanksgiving; My Last Favorite Holiday =-.

JD on Tue, 8th Dec 2009 5:54 am

Good morning, Mitch.

Do you ever feel like you’re playing when you write a new blog post?

Sometimes, I do.

As Arnold Toynbee once said, “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.”

I think both of us do that now and then, don’t you?

All the best,

Mitch on Tue, 8th Dec 2009 10:43 am

Hi John,

I can’t honestly say I feel like I’m playing, but I can say that I feel like I’m having fun. That might only be a point of semantics, but I still see blogging as serious stuff, because its overall intention is to entertain, draw visitors and commentary, and potentially to buy something. True play is hedonistic; can’t say I’m feeling that when I’m blogging, at least most of the time.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..My Top 12 News Stories Of The Decade =-.

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