Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thanksgiving 2014



It's the time of the year that everyone writes all over social networks the things they are thankful for; so I will blog what I am thankful for all of the time; not just this month or day.

Good Health-
Even if my health isn't the greatest all of the time; it could be much worse. 

True Friendships-
I have less than a handful of friends who continue to stay true to me, and our friendship. It's hard to find people like that.

My Parents-
I know I have issues with them at times, but they're always by my side when I need them most.

Weekends-
Who isn't thankful for their short weekends? 2 days to just relax or do something fun. I am in!

My Boyfriend-
I am so blessed to have met the man of my dreams. I'm even more blessed that our relationship is growing more and more daily, and I am thankful for his love. 

My Children-
If I think about life without the 3 amazing souls that have changed mine, I'd be completely lost. They're the ones I am MOST thankful for in my life. 

Mistakes- 
I love to make mistakes, even if I don't mean to. It's a chance to learn and grow in life.

Home-
I am thankful that I have a roof over my head. Daily people die, and starve on the streets.

Fresh Air-
It's the simple things to be thankful for like this. Imagine a world without being able to step outside and breathing in fresh air!

Laughter-
The sound of laughter brightens up anyone's day! Make sure you laugh today.

Time-
Many days I feel like I am running out of time for everything, but time is something we shouldn't take for granted.

Clean Water-
Many people in the world have no access to CLEAN water. 

LOVE-
Imagine a world if we lacked the ability to love. All you need is love. 

Pain-
Without pain it would be difficult to appreciate life's joys.

Art-
What a boring, and colorless world it would be without art.

Moon & Stars-
They encourage us to dream. 

Ability to HEAR-
I've been more thankful of this sense this year; than any in previous years. My best friend lost her hearing, and watching her learn to adjust is difficult. The simple things like hearing your children's voices, laughter, danger and so on. She's now missing that and it breaks my heart. 

Nature-
My peaceful time out in life.

Law Enforcement/ Military-
Could you imagine what the US would be like right now if we didn't have people out there protecting our freedoms? Yeah; Me either!


This year I am celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents, Dillon, my brother, my Aunt Lynn, and 2 dogs. Some people do not celebrate Thanksgiving due to the real meaning of thanksgiving. Below I will share that story.


"Most of us associate the holiday with happy Pilgrims and Indians sitting down to a big feast.  And that did happen - once. 
The story began in 1614 when a band of English explorers sailed home to  England with a ship full of Patuxet Indians bound for slavery. They left behind smallpox which virtually wiped out those who had escaped.  By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts Bay they found only one living Patuxet Indian, a man named Squanto who had survived slavery in England and knew their language.  He taught them to grow corn and to fish, and negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims held a great feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags. 
But as word spread in England about the paradise to be found in the new world, religious zealots called Puritans began arriving by the boat load. Finding no fences around the land, they considered it to be in the public domain. Joined by other British settlers, they seized land, capturing strong young Natives for slaves and killing the rest.  But the Pequot Nation had not agreed to the peace treaty Squanto had negotiated and they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest Indian wars ever fought.  
In 1637 near present day  Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside.  Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.
Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists and their Indian allies attacked village after village. Women and children over 14 were sold into slavery while the rest were murdered.  Boats loaded with a many as 500 slaves regularly left the ports of New England. Bounties were paid for Indian scalps to encourage as many deaths as possible.   
Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot in what is now  Stamford, Connecticut, the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory over the heathen savages.  During the feasting, the hacked off heads of Natives were kicked through the streets like soccer balls.  Even the friendly Wampanoag did not escape the madness. Their chief was beheaded, and his head impaled on a pole in Plymouth, Massachusetts -- where it remained on display for 24 years.   
The killings became more and more frenzied, with days of thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre. Later Abraham Lincoln decreed Thanksgiving Day to be a legal national holiday during the Civil War -- on the same day he ordered troops to march against the starving Sioux in Minnesota.
This story doesn't have quite the same fuzzy feelings associated with it as the one where the Indians and Pilgrims are all sitting down together at the big feast.  But we need to learn our true history so it won't ever be repeated.  Next  Thanksgiving, when you gather with your loved ones to Thank God for all your blessings, think about those people who only wanted to live their lives and raise their families.  They, also took time out to say "thank you" to Creator for all their blessings."  -http://www.manataka.org/



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