♫ It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ♫ Common, everyday blessings + a Veteran's Day thank you

Today I was thinking about things that I take for granted but are so precious to me. Things that I count on to be there when I need them or want them. If they disappeared I'd miss them and want them back. Today I am thankful for the most common, everyday services and experiences but blessings, none-the-less. Do you have things in your life that you take for granted that would be dearly missed if they went away?

1. Electricity. Think about it for a moment. All you have to do is flip a switch and you have light or warmth or cool air or a running appliance. There are people on earth who live in cardboard houses or tents or mud huts. Our fingertips can activate a little miracle several times each day.
2. Indoor water. When I was a little girl my mother and I would visit friends of hers that lived in a farmhouse with no indoor water or plumbing whatsoever. I remember pumping water to drink that tasted yucky but cold and going out in the middle of the night to sit on a circular cut-out hoping nothing would grab me from underneath before I was done with my business☺ I had fun when we would go there to visit but boy, was I ever happy to get home to a toilet that flushed and water that came out of a tap!
3. Telephone. Yes, I mean the kind that is attached to the wall and not tucked into your pocket☺ Sure, I have a cell phone - have for years - but there is something comforting about the old-fashioned ring of a telephone telling you that someone is on the other end that wants to talk with you. Sometimes you don't want to talk with them (people soliciting for business) but all-in-all, the call is usually someone whose voice is one that you are happy to hear.
   
4. US mail. Postage costs are rising but when you really think about it, if you gave someone a letter and asked them to take it from Michigan to California and then told them that you would pay them 42 cents to get the job done - what do you think you'd get for an answer? Mailing a letter is still a fair bargain and nothing is more welcome than receiving a card or letter in the mail. You can hold it in your hand and read it several times. You can put the card on your counter for display and then tuck it safely in a box tied with satin ribbon. Even in the age of the internet, receiving mail can be like having coffee with an old friend.
5. Neighbors. You don't have to be bosom buddies and chat over the fence every day but isn't it nice when you are coming home or getting in your car or walking the dog or mowing the lawn to raise your hand to wave at someone accompanied by your best smile? It's a connection to your neighborhood - to something outside the four walls of your home. My neighbors are always on the go but when we are outside and notice each other it feels good to smile, wave and say hello☺

Joseph Korzecki 1911 - 1999

My last blessing and the one I am MOST THANKFUL for on this Veteran's Day is my father. He fought in the Pacific theater in World War II but never, ever talked of his heroism. He did share with his family the heroism of his buddies.