by Hope
My assumption (and yes, I know what you get when you assume) is that many in the BAD Community have fared the COVID crisis and repercussions better or with more security than much of the country, even the world. I could certainly be wrong. But I think overall, despite COVID, as an American, we have much to be grateful for.
Today is all about being grateful, counting our blessings and sharing some really good food. I don’t know about you, but we have soaked every moment in. Church together in my parents’ living room, volleyball games in a rented gym (just our family), lots of shared meals, intense discussions, reminiscing and laughing about the crazy things my mom says now.
“Do you know him (referring to my dad, her primary caretaker)? Have known him very long?
I’ve seen my parents every couple of months since our visit here in July. They came to Georgia in September. And we are here now. So I see the decline in my mom from a different view and perspective then my dad and siblings who are all local.
But all of this just brings home how much I have to be grateful for.
Ringing to Bell as a Reminder
This visit will end tomorrow and we will give back just a little of our time before we return to Georgia. For our last two hours in Texas, we will ring the Salvation Army bell in hopes of raising some much needed support for an organization that does so much good. And when my kids and I leave for the airport, my siblings will take over ringing the bell for a couple more hours.
It’s something my parents and siblings have done every year on Black Friday for the last few years, but we have never gotten to participate as we typically leave at the crack of dawn to return home. But this Friday, we get to give back in this small way.
As we enter this last month of one of the most challenging years which has stripped all of us of the sense of normalcy we once knew, I encourage you to focus on your blessings and if you can, give back…I know I am.
Happy Thanksgiving, BAD Community! I pray you have a wonderful day however and wherever you have chosen to celebrate this most unusual year.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
