Category Archives: Gratitude

Gratitude

Books for a Meme 16

Autism Spectrum, Books, Fun Stuff, Gratitude • Tags: , , ,

Today I am grateful for this meme and for Rachel at Journeys with Autism who doubly honored me by tagging both my book and me in a book meme.  I was grinning from ear to ear when I read that she likes my novel and then further down the post she tagged me for the meme because she knows how much I love books.  But alas I fell off the blog sphere radar was distracted this week.

Here are the rules for the meme:

1. Take a picture of the books you are reading currently and add them to your post.  (I am cheating altering the rules and including one that I recently finished.  I think you will be able to figure out why.)

2. Describe the books and if you are enjoying them

3. For every book you are reading, you have to tag one person.

4. Leave the person a comment letting them know you tagged them.

Here goes:  My books - Copy

I recently finished reading The Uncharted Path: My Journey with Late Diagnosed Autism by the afore-mentioned Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg.  It is an insightful gem which I highly recommend especially to those of you who are parents of girls on the spectrum.  You can find out more about it on her blog or at Amazon.com.  Rachel, thank you so much for sharing your life with us!

Love and War: The Civil War Letters and Medicinal Book of Augustus V. Ball edited by Donald S. Frazier and Andrew Hillhouse and transcribed by Anne Ball Ryals, was my birthday gift to myself.  This book is actually about my family.  Dr. Augustus V. Ball was the brother of my direct ancestor.

There are two letters in the book from Augustus’ dad who was also my ancestor.  I have been skipping around the book because of family ties, but I love what I have found.  This book includes information from pre-civil war to its aftermath along with medical recipes for treating various illnesses.  I think today we would call him a naturopath.

Now you know my secret; I am a history fanatic buff and when I have that rare spare moment I get self-absorbed lost in family history.

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks is an enjoyable easy read about a young woman named Katie who has a mysterious past.  I am only half way through it, but so far it is entertaining and a good way to escape from reality for a while.  I always enjoy reading Nicholas Sparks’ novels.  It is my guilty pleasure.

May You Always Have an Angel by Your Side; edited by Douglas Pagels is a collection of quotes and poems about angels another of my favorite things.  I definitely believe in angels both in human form and otherwise.

So now you know!  I either focus on autism or escape it depending on my mood and how much time I have.

Now to pass on the fun I am tagging:

Suzanne atAutism Mom Rising because I know she is a very spiritual person.

Lisa at Karma Per Diem who is also a southern belle who loves books.

Kelly at Puzzle Piece Princess who certainly understands the need for more education about how autism affects our girls. 

Grace at Blessed Elements when loves reading, positive messages and angels as much or more than I do. 

 

Blessed and Grateful in Hawaii 24

Gratitude, Tsunami 2011 • Tags: , ,

Pictures from my camera 086 - CopyLast night was a sleepless night at our home as we gathered our water and checked our hurricane supplies in preparation for the Tsunami.  Yet, we are still very blessed.  While the first appearance of the bare reef off Diamond Head caused fear, Oahu only had minor damage to our boat harbors.  Maui and the Big Island had more damage, but still minor compared to Japan.

I am also aware of how fortunate I am to have so many people who care about me.  Many of my follow bloggers, old friends, and family reached out via Facebook and e-mail to offer prayers and/ or good wishes as they held my family in their thoughts.   My family called me first thing this morning to make sure we are okay.  I am grateful for all of those who reached out.

Hawaii is truly blessed as we were spared devastation from a Tsunami.  I know many of you have already seen footage of Japan.  I ask that you continue to send them prayers.  Many in Hawaii have family in Japan and many Japanese are frequent visitors here, so their loss will be felt here as well.

With Much Gratitude and Aloha,

Sue

A Sibling Is a Gift 9

Family, Gratitude • Tags: , , , , ,
©Delightfully Different Life
©DelightfullyDifferentLife All Rights Reserved.

I often tell my daughter that her brother is the best gift I ever gave her and I honestly mean this. Of course having an older sibling is also a gift. There are several reasons I believe having a sibling is a gift.

The first is that you have someone who shares many of the same life experiences. They know exactly what you mean when you refer to a funny family story. Plus, when you want your parents to change a rule, you have an ally, and if Mom and Dad seem unreasonable there is someone to agree with you.

Siblings are our first friends and they help us to learn valuable life skills. We learn negotiation skills and tolerance of differences by working to resolve disagreements that arise with our siblings. Working together to get something you both want also gives you team building skills.

People may think being the younger sibling of someone on the autism spectrum is hard. However, my son and I both know that the hardest part of our lives has never been related to his sister’s diagnosis. The hardest part has all been related to the bullying.

This made my son much more aware of bullying issues than many of his peers. He talks to me about things that happen at school because he knows he can trust me to try to help him resolve issues. He knows keeping quiet or allowing someone to get away with abusing someone is wrong. He still has trouble with not wanting to “tattle,” but he does realize the value of the bystander and that “reporting,” people who harm others is important. These are all things he learned from having a sibling.

The value of siblings does not end after you are grown either. I am grateful for my brothers still. Two of them were there for our parents when I was far away. The third was also far away; therefore, I have someone who understands how hard being away from home was as my parents aged. My husband and I have implemented plans to try to diminish the burden on our children as we age. Still, I think they will be grateful for each other when the time comes for them to take on the responsibility of making hard adult decisions.

Old Friends and Happiness 8

Gratitude • Tags: ,

Diamond1WMK

Jen is requesting links to old posts related to something that makes us happy.  You can view mine here, but please also go over to Jen’s to view others.  You can click on the picture to reach her site.  Many of these bloggers also make me happy by sharing their stories and by commenting on mine.  I am behind in my reading and commenting because I was away from my computer much of the weekend and part of the week, so I will be catching up on my reading too.     

Spending time visiting with old friends also makes me happy.  I am grateful that this weekend I got to reconnect with three old friends.  We got to see two of our dear old friends, our best man and his wife, and their young son on Friday and Saturday as they visited Honolulu.  The husband is the closest my husband has to a brother.  I stayed with these friends for a few days before our wedding and they made sure I went through with the wedding when I was getting cold feet.  Just visiting with them and catching up on each other’s lives brought joy into our home. 

Then on Sunday I had a long phone conversation with another dear friend, our maid of honor who had called when we were out on Saturday.   These three people really mean so much to us.   The friend who called is the one who introduced me to my husband and has been a good friend since 1982.  It was a wonderful way to spend a weekend.

What makes you happy?