For those who didn't hear it, there was a wonderful "This I Believe" segment by Penn Jillette on NPR's Morning Edition on November 21. I hope that people will read and/ or listen to it. He said, and said quite well, a lot of what I feel everyday. And while I agree wholeheartedly with the entire essay, I will just quote a little of it here in honor of what I am thankful for today.
"I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.
Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around."
I would like to make one small addition to it though, given that the family that raised me has been gone for so long: I am thankful for the family that I have found by design and by luck, and for the family that has found me. I am thankful that while almost fifteen years ago I thought that I had lost everything when I lost my mother, it turns out that there was a whole different everything to be found. Marriage, true friends, and especially motherhood have been more than I could have ever hoped for and are far more than I deserve. So, I am thankful that while life is sometimes unfair against me, it sometimes rewards beyond merit too.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Penn Jillette on Morning Edition http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557
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2 comments:
Hi, Kate. /This is James. I'm at school. I read a bit of your thankful message. I'm glad someone else takes pride in the little things. maxim is a wonderboy. Oskar is totally cool. Maybe there will be a double wedding in the future--maxim/Emily Oskar/Caudia
i am thankful to have found my friend through the distance of all these crazy years. i am grateful that she has found so much to be thankful for in hers. i look forward to hearing about the many more adventures to come. felicidades on your nueva casita y tu familia tan preciosa! love - carly
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