THANKFUL

By Kelly Bridgewater

Yesterday was my birthday. Yes, on Thanksgiving. It happens every so often. I ate turkey, mac and cheese, potatoes with gravy, green beans, deviled eggs, a salad, and some pie. Pie. Not cake. It happens when my birthday falls on the holiday. My mother, brother, and sister came with their families, and we celebrated the day together. After the meal, my mother, sister, and I cleaned up while all nine grandchildren ran around in the woods behind our house. It was nice to have them run off that piece of pie that they ate. 

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Having my family together means more this year after losing our Daddy last Halloween. It has been a rough year, but it makes me want to spend more time with my mother before I lose her too.

I'm thankful for:

- A loving God who is always there for me, even though this past year has been a HUGE struggle in really believing that he cares about the decisions I make in my life.

- A supportive and loving husband who works really hard to provide for me and our boys. I love my husband who is definitely more romantic that I ever will be, even though romance isn't big on my priority list.

-Three high energy boys who love me. Even the teenager still talks to me when a certain girl at school catches his interest. I hope that keeps up. He knows that I want to know about things like that because it is important to stay in connection with his mother. 

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 - A God-fearing mother who loves God and teaches everyone about God. My mother has always had us three kids in church our entire life. I don't remember missing church much. It was such a part of my upbringing that is why my husband and I continue taking and teaching our boys about God.

- A little sister and older brother who is always there for me. No matter what. If I need to call and talk to them, they are both there to listen and offer their assistance. I couldn't imagine better siblings. Even though when we were younger, I don't think I would have ever said that.

- My loving books and joy in writing. I have loved books and writing for as long as I can remember. My life has revolved around creating imaginary stories and reading tons of books to fill my day. I don't understand how people, like my boys, don't enjoy getting lost in a good book.

What are you thankful for? Not just because it is Thanksgiving, but because it is good to remember all the great things that the Lord has given us. I'm thankful that you take the time to read my ramblings. Thank you! Have a good holiday!

Welcome Fall

By K. L. Bridgewater

Four weeks ago on August 29, I talked about saying good-bye to summer, and I found my passion for writing again. But today, however, I want to talk about one of my two favorite seasons, which started this week. FALL! Just the idea of fall brings a smile and a shiver to my body.

My four favorite fall things are:

       1.) Color- Every where you look there is a vibrant of autumn colors. Browns. Red. Oranges. Yellow. The leaves change color on the trees, showcasing God's handiwork. The pumpkins are all ablaze in their vibrant orange color, begging to be picked and used as decorations or to be carved into a unique scene. I love going to the pumpkin patch and picking the one, which is perfect for carving and having all aglow in my living room. I love decorating the house with leaves and berries mixed with the pumpkins and scented candles.

     2.) Cooler weather- I love cold weather, so I become excited when it is time to put the shorts and t-shirts away, and you get to remove the sweaters and jeans out of the closet. I love walking outside, hearing the crunch of the leaves under your feet and smelling the chill in the air. I take huge gulps of crisp air, lingering outside as much as I can. As much as I don't mind mowing grass, I truly enjoy raking leaves into a mountain of brown nuggets of fun. My boys and I jump into the pile and throw the leaves around. Moments of joy and laughter expel from our front yard as we enjoy this fall tradition.

      3.) Covered Bridge Festival- In Parke County, Indiana, for an entire week in October, there is a huge Covered Bridge Festival. Parke County features 31 different covered bridges. In Bridgeton, Mansfield, and Rockville, they have huge festivals with food vendors and tents. The tents and stores along the city sell homemade items and name brand stuff at a great discount. Plus, all the houses on the main roads to the festival are filled with yard sales galore. As a huge avid of yard sales, I'm always looking out for a bargain. I spend the whole week shopping with my husband, kids, aunt, and in-laws. Even my mother-in-law, aunt, and I take a girl day and shop during the week. Great fun! I usually shop for Christmas gifts and clothes for the kids for next year. I have a budget, which I stick to. One of my most coveted food item is a soft pretzel hand-created by the Amish. Yum!  I get one or two every year. I'm drooling already. I can't wait. A couple of years ago, I found a first edition of Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis. Great find! I love finding book treasures for myself or to give as gifts.

     4.) Holidays- In October, Halloween comes, and in November, Thanksgiving and my birthday. I enjoy decorating the house for fall and Halloween mixed together. Picking out the kids trick-or-treat costumes is a huge blast. This year, I found Mario and Luigi costumes at a yard sale for three dollars, which made my youngest two really excited. Even though I know a lot of Christians don't like trick-or-treating, my kids go because when I was growing up I never went, and I hated sitting at home while my friends got tons of candy. No fun! So I make sure my children enjoy this fun holiday, plus they get to stay up late and walk around outside in the dark with flashlights. What could be better!
       
        Thanksgiving is also a fun holiday because every five to six years, my birthday actually falls on Thanksgiving. I enjoy sitting around with the family, eating turkey, and pie. We don't watch football at my house. We watch hockey, but hockey players have thanksgiving off, so there is no game. The children watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, while heavenly aromas of the turkey, sweet potatoes, and veggies mixed with the nutty smell of pumpkin, chocolate, and peanut butter pie filtered through the house.

I hope you enjoyed writing my favorite things about fall. What are your favorite things about fall? Comment below. Tell me what you like. Let's be thankful that God gives us such a fun season to relax after the harsh summer.

The Fourth: Memories or Writing

By K. L. Bridgewater

As the traditional late night explosion of summer breathes down our neck, I was wondering if writing would have to take a break on this extended three day weekend. Since the Fourth falls on a Friday, most people will have the complete weekend off. Writing something every day, even if it has been only for an hour, has become a habit of mine. I wake up, read the Bible, have breakfast, or at least, prepare breakfast for three boys while shoveling bites of yogurt and fruit into my mouth, exercise for thirty minutes, then sit down to write, hopefully without any interruptions, for a total of an hour.

Since Friday this week includes the holiday, I don't know if writing will actually occur. My husband will be at Audiofeed with our middle son, and I will still have the youngest and oldest to watch. For dinner, I will go to my in-laws house for a cookout and then head to the Wabash River to watch the fireworks. With all the preparations and visiting with family, I wondered if I will have time to squeeze in any time for writing.

But I have decided that I may not move further along in my novel planning for Devin and Chloe's story, however, I plan to spend the time focusing on making memories with my children. Because my oldest is almost 13 and going to start 7th grade this fall, my moments with him are becoming limited. Gone are the nights of chasing fireflies after dark and counting the stars as they appear in God's dark blanket.  I plan to still do those traditions with him and the other two boys until they grow out of wanting to hang out with mom.

This year, I will observe my children's reaction and listen to their laughter as they run around the yard, looking for that familiar flickering yellow light, signaling a firefly. Paying attention to their movements and mannerisms may help me create more realistic characters for my story. I'll focus in on the discussions around the barbeque table, hunting for a sub-story I could use in one of my novels. Instead of talking, I enjoy people watching. Makes me appear to be shy but I think it makes me a better writer.

So for this Fourth of July, I won't have to put my writing on hold. I'll just observe the world around me and take mental notes of the laughter of children and the gossip floating around the food.

I hope you have a blessed Fourth of July and remember the reason America is such a great country.

Do you have ways of balancing celebrating the holiday and writing? Are you a people watcher or a talker at family gatherings?  Has an idea occurred to you when surrounded by people you love?