Thanksgiving

Reflecting on all the things that I am thankful today for....I am thankful that I have a wonderful dad that adopted me and has treated me like one of his own. I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband who at times challenges my patience. I have three dogs that truly make me laugh and swear sometimes on a daily basis. I have a job that I love and challenges me on a daily basis. I have co-workers that make me want to come to work cuz that are truly amazing caring people. I have close friends that I can lean on in times of need. I hope that today finds you pondering that you are thankful for. I hope today finds you celebrating those things with friends and family..

To my Poppy

Jack Auld, my grandpa, passed away last week. Many of you may have known him. He was a great man, father, friend and grandfather. He lived to the age of 90 with his wife Olga of 68 years. Can you imagine? He lived a full life and when my uncle asked him if he filled his bucket list and he said yes.
I did not get to see him as much as I would have liked to. He lived in Delaware and I lived in North Dakota for the past 28 years. The times we did get to spend to together were memorable and valuable.
I always told him I thought I wanted to be a fisherwoman. Some of the best times were on his boat the Auld Lang Syne. We would head out to the bay or ocean and he always thought he knew where the spot was going to be that day. We sought flounder...sometimes we found them and other times we were skunked. Grandma would be singing--in hopes to "attract" the fish. I would be enjoying the gentle rock of the boat and waiting for the fish. We always packed a lunch of pepper ham or "turkey-lurkey" sandwiches. Grandma was always the first to pull out the lunch and say, "Jack, are you ready for your sandwich" and quite honestly I think she also caught the most fish.
Fee, Fi, fo, fum I smell the blood of an englishmen,,be he live or be he dead I'll grind his bones and make his bread could often be heard as he tickled us and tucked us into bed.
He loved the outdoors and nature. He always had his bird feeders full and watched them for hours. He was always trying to figure out how to keep the squirrels out of the feeders. I am guessing he passed that onto my mom and then eventually to me.
He would also put out the crab pots. After an overnight of sitting he would pull then in. He would say, "Hey Sher look at some of these." He would clean them and we would have a grand feast. I sat with him a month ago for his 90th birthday. Although he did not put the pots out and catch and clean them--we had a grand feast. I sat next to him at the table and smiled and reflected of all of my memories with him. He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Just like you remember at the beach, Sher?' I said, "Yes poppy. Are you going to the be last one cracking or am I?" He gave me the twinkle in the eye and a smile. That is the memory that I will take with me as the years pass.
You did it "your way" poppy....................