So Thankful

It's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but in honor of the holiday later this month I've been doing the 30 days of Thankfulness postings on Facebook.  Today though I had too much I wanted to say that I had to spill over to the blog to post day seven.

I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers.  Liam and I flew to Michigan yesterday and from the minute we got off the shuttle at the Des Moines airport, people were stopping to ask if they could help me.  So thank you to the gentleman who took the stroller through the revolving door, the woman who lifted the carrier so I could get that darn belt off at security and later carried a bag for me until I dropped off the stroller.  Thank you to the awesome flight attendants who were always there with a smile for Liam and who made a point of telling me specifics of what we would want to know in an emergency.  Thank you to the two women we sat next to on each of our flights who were happy and kind enough to help entertain a sweet little boy with games of peek-a-boo.  Thank you to all the passengers around us who responded with smiles to Liam's attempts to say hi. Thank you to all the random strangers in the airport that took a moment to hold a door, offer a kind word or a moment of help.  Even just a smile made such a difference.  While we had an easy trip overall, all these little (and not-so-little) things made the day so much easier.  On a day with so much negativity going on with the election, it was nice to have moments of sunshine.  It has also made me much more determined to try to be aware of this when I'm traveling on my own, and I will be sure to return this favor many times over.

I'm thankful I've learned to say yes (at least some of the time) when people ask me if they can help me in some way, shape or form.  

I'm so thankful for my Kindle Fire.  Without that and the downloaded episode of Curious George and the Animal Match'em game, that hour or so we sat on the runway in Des Moines before takeoff would have not gone nearly as well!

I'm thankful that Liam is such a good traveler, making little to no noise on each flight except for his giggles and chatter.  Granted, this probably made some of the kindness of strangers happen, as I know it's easier to smile at a kid being adorable versus one screaming...which makes me even more appreciative of this fact :)  I'm also thankful that his ears seem much improved and made for a better trip. 

I'm thankful that I watched TV today and did not see a single political ad! Yea!

I'm thankful that Grandma and Grandpa let me take a nap today while they entertained Liam.

I'm thankful for the generosity of friends who have helped provide everything from car seats to cribs to toys and everything in-between, making the invasion of two little ones easier on all of us!

And more than anything, I'm thankful to be able to spend several days with my family here in Deckerville.  These opportunities are few and far between and being able to take advantage of them when we can is special.  I'm thankful that Liam got to meet several of his great-great aunts and uncles today, and that we get several days to spend here with the family and our wonderful friends.  And I'm most thankful that we get moments like this to enjoy and remember...