When I think about the things I am thankful for, of course the obvious things come to mind. That I live in a free country and am allowed to worship God without fear….for the health I’ve been blessed with and the family I was born into and the one I married into. For the children I’ve had and the friends that have been in much of my journey……for all this I am most grateful and thankful.

Then there are the daily things that never get mentioned. I am thankful for Napoleon. He walked into our lives a year ago June and through a lot of experiences, we have come to know one another and trust one another. We worried over him as a child. He had no where to go….we knew nothing about peacocks. By some magical formula we began the long road of understanding each other and became friends.

He has been roosting in our big oak in the front yard for some time again and he follows the cats and me around the yard as I work or walk Mandy. He is as much a pet as they are. He comes running to the front porch each morning for bread and other goodies and he makes his rounds throughout the day…..drinking from the bird baths or preening himself on top of our van. He walks up to the front door each evening about dusk and looks in to see if I’m coming with his bread. He waits until I bring some and then steps down on the sidewalk while I break it up for him. It is as much a ritual as the communion bread in church. He is thankful and I could reach out and touch him but I don’t. Somehow it would be a breach of respect.

We have three little garage cats. After Missy died, later that summer, a little stray Calico came to the edge of our woods and would sit for long periods of time. We realized she was lost or abandoned and over time lured her to our deck for food. Trust takes time.

Next, a little kitten was laying under a car at the Chevrolet Dealership in our town…….Becky noticed him when we went by and we were afraid he would get out in the street and get run over. We went back with food and milk….couldn’t catch him but Rocky went back the next day and told them if they could catch him we’d take him. A few days later, he was ours. We named him Chevy and he still likes getting under cars. What a cutie…..just like a little boy.

Becky called one day and asked if I would come rescue a female Blue Russian from their office. She rode in on a pickup truck and was wandering around the parking lot of their office. Of course I did, and we named her Lovey because she was so loving and grateful to find a home.

They are closed in safe and sound each night and let out the next morning. They have all their needs in the garage and that is their refuge when frightened or the weather is bad. Then we have old Morris and little Sassy in the house and Mandy who came to live with us in April. They have become very good friends and co-exist. They spend a lot of their day watching the outside cats.

God’s creatures give us so much pleasure. We have many varieties of song birds at our feeders and bird baths……and enjoy the squirrels as well. With the variety of critters our days are full and offer us everything from laughter to delight as we observe their comings and goings.

With all the obvious things to be thankful for…….sometimes we just need to stop and think of the wonderfully ordinary events in everyday. The things we spend so much of our time with should never be overlooked or thought less of.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “God must have loved poor folks….He made so many of them”……which leads me to think, He must have loved little critters for He made so many of them……..and aren’t we thankful that He did?

WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!

Until next time,
Essentially Esther