Beyond the Comfort Zone

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I am deeply aware of my blessings.

Yet sometimes it is hard to be grateful for a path that turns unexpectedly, taking me out of the comfort zone. It is easy to love the comfort zone, where there is no anxiety or pain other than what I have already faced. But what lies beyond the comfort zone? What blessings? What adventures? What new friends? And what person will I be at the end of it, when I have stretched my limits so far that this new place has become my comfort zone?

I am thankful for my husband and my children. I am thankful for good friends. I am thankful for a comfortable house and a lovely garden. I am thankful for life itself and for the fresh air upon my face. I am thankful to God for giving me all these blessings and many more.

And now that my comfort zone has been upset by complications from surgery earlier this year, I am grateful for a new path that, at least for now, I must get along with a cane. In my mind it is too many years early for such a thing; but although I can't yet see beyond the turn of the path, I look forward to seeing where it will take me. I have also discovered that long handled garden tools serve as temporary substitutes for my cane, so I am grateful that I can still rake leaves off of that path!

Many blessings to you all...Deb

Leftover Thanksgiving Banquet

Leftovers from a Thanksgiving banquet are piled in heaps here and there. Stomachs are stuffed, and there is contentment, for the overwhelming abundance promises many meals to come. There will be no hunger when the cold weather arrives.

Tasty, indeed.

Life is good.

Acorns are great, but some might prefer pumpkin pie!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and may you be blessed abundantly throughout the holiday season.   Deborah

P.S. Roll Tide!

P.P.S. For those of you who are offended by, or who don't understand the above comment: In our region, college football is a year round passion, and in Alabama most, if not all, babies are born into either the Alabama or Auburn family. I know this is true, because even the tiniest premature infants often own Alabama or Auburn hats, booties, and blankets. This is genetic and usually cannot be undone. Also, many people who move into the state are soon drawn into one or the other football families by association. Although I have been an Alabama Crimson Tide fan since infancy, I am not a fanatic. I always root for Auburn except when they play Alabama. Heck, I will even pull for LSU under certain circumstances. 

This is a garden blog, and usually I keep politics, religion, family issues, and football out of it. But on the day of the Iron Bowl, when Alabama meets our greatest rival Auburn, I couldn't help it!