Friday Five: Thanking God for You

Numbers three (right) and five (left) with me in the middle.
Number four, with Onkel Hankie Pants.
Number two, at Thanksgiving 1942.
Number one, with me. a long time ago.

Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals quotes St. Paul and ruminates:

Phillipians 1:3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.

I'm musing about giving thanks for people today, partly because Americans celebrated our annual Thanksgiving holiday yesterday (I try not to just make this holiday "turkey day" even though its main feature seems to be eating till one is nearly comatose) and partly because I read the above verse this morning. It started me thinking about individuals in my life for whom I give thanks. For this post-Thanksgiving Day Friday Five, share with us "Five People For Whom You Give Thanks to God" and maybe tell us why they are significant.

I have many, many people in my life for whom I'm thankful, so it's hard to choose just five. I'm writing a bit about two who are gone and three who are still with us.

1. Thank God for Mama. My mother has been gone for 21 years now. I took her for granted for a long time, until I grew up and learned that some other people's mothers were not as loving, supportive, and generally non-neurotic as the one I was blessed with. I am grateful that I had her as long as I did even though I wish she could still be here.

2. Thank God for Grammie.

I also had the good fortune to be blessed with a very special grandmother. She did all the traditional grandmotherly things like knitting mittens, making quilts, baking molasses cookies, frying doughnuts, and making popcorn balls at Christmas. She also read widely, wrote and sold poetry and free-lance essays and articles, knew all the birds and plants and was a keen observer of nature on the farm. She never wanted to stop learning and connecting with new people. If she were alive now, I'm sure she would have a blog and a lot of cyberfriends and would be emailing her grandchildren and great-grandchildren regularly. She has been a model and inspiration for me and her other grandchildren always.

3. Thank God for Sisterfilms.

I have three children, and they are all my favorites for different reasons. But the youngest, known on these pages as Sisterfilms, calls me almost every day and so she is a daily delight. It wasn't always easy for her being the baby sister to two such strong and gifted personalities as SonShineIn and Cordeliaknits. Now, at almost 24, she is really coming into her own. She has astonishing insights into people, theology, films, music, and current events. AND, she says she'll take care of me when I'm old, if I need her to.

4. Thank God for The CPA.

My friend Constance, known on this blog as The CPA because that's her profession, is one of several friends I've had since eighth grade. I've written before about how these girls (as we then were) took me in as a new friend at a time in life when girls tend to be clique-y and not so nice. So I can't ever really choose a "favorite" among these oldest friends -- each has her own endearing qualities, and with all of them I have our years of history. But The CPA is special partly because -- as we all agree -- she is so good. She's the one who always responds to emails, who thinks of the thoughtful thing to do for someone who needs it, shares her financial expertise when asked, and who always loads the dishwasher because she's so good at it -- and then manages to sneakily finish the rest of the cleanup. Lest you think she sounds like an impossible goody-goody, that's not the case. She's also a lot of fun to be with, and can make a snarky comment when it's called for. Conversations with her are always stimulating, whether humorous or intellectual. I wish she didn't live on the Left Coast, but then again it's fun to visit her there and she does get out this way now and then.

5. Thank God for Punster Pastor.

For twenty-five years I was privileged to have Bob, here referred to as Punster Pastor for a tendency to pulpit punning, as my minister and friend. For most of those years we met monthly over the church newsletter. He baptized two of my children and confirmed all three; he helped both me and OHP grieve the deaths of our parents. Of course, a lot of ministers do that. But how many would know that the perfect gift for someone flying to her father's funeral (four months after her mother's) would be a packet of gum for the plane and a book of Ole and Lena jokes? They were exactly what I needed. Thanks, Bob, and thank God for you.