As we creep up on the anniversary of Mary Elizabeth’s stroke, I’ve been thinking a lot about the year behind us (and a little bit about the years ahead) and since Thanksgiving is coming up here in the States, I wanted to reflect a little bit about for what (and to whom) we’re thankful.
But first, since I’ve been catching Mary Elizabeth up on the blog every night (we’re now up to the end of July I think), I thought I’d share some statistics:
- I’ve made 169 posts to the blog since I started it on December 9, 2009.
- There have been 2,430 comments to those posts
- We’ve had over 108,000 hits to the blog since inception
- In December, 2009 we had an average of 900 hits a day, and we’re still getting about 80 hits a day.
- We have 44 fans on the Facebook page we created a few weeks ago.
Either you all have a lot of free time on your hands, or you care a lot about Mary Elizabeth and her recovery! Seriously though, I share these statistics not to brag, but as a gauge of how incredibly thankful we are for the kindness, attention and thoughtfulness we’ve received over the last 11 months. Although there have been moments of darkness and desperation in the last year – plenty of them – I think that overall we’ve been able to maintain a positive outlook on our lives thanks to the support we’ve received from friends, family and colleagues.
Interestingly, I’ve heard several times now from friends and colleagues that whenever they start to feel sorry for themselves, they think about us and about our situation and they feel better immediately.
Hmmm.
I do know what they mean however and I think it has to do with keeping a positive attitude and trying hard (and succeeding mostly) not to feel sorry for ourselves too much.
For me, feeling thankful requires a little more work than before, but brings with it a clarity and depth that I don’t think it did a year ago. It’s really easy to say “I’m so thankful that Mary Elizabeth is with us, and recovering.” Honestly though, I’d be a lot more thankful if she didn’t have that stroke in the first place!
I’ve been talking a lot about this with Mary Elizabeth and yes, we’d both be much happier if none of his happened, but it did, and there’s nothing we can do about that. But as I’ve said several times before, it’s how we react and what we do to pull ourselves back from the abyss.
So as odd as it may sound, here’s why we’re thankful that Mary Elizabeth had a stroke:
- Being by Mary Elizabeth’s side throughout this ordeal, from the dark first days to today, has cleaved us together in a way that only adversity can. Our love for each other is stronger and more tenacious than ever. For that, we give thanks.
- The stroke and its aftermath has given us an up-close-and-personal view of our own strength and resiliency. At times it feels like we can’t take it anymore, but somehow we pick ourselves up and keep going. For that, we give thanks.
- We’ve learned, overwhelmingly, that we’re not alone. We’re continually reminded that there’s a wide circle of people – some of whom we don’t even know – who support us with love, kind thoughts and prayers. For that, we give thanks.
- Nobody would wish this on a family, but the way our children have responded shows I think that they’ve learned lessons about how to cope with adversity, how to stay positive in a bad situation – without being in denial – and how their support really helps. For that, we give thanks.
- And finally, the realization that we could lose those things we love most in an instant has given us an intense appreciation and gratitude for what we have. For that, we give thanks.
So Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and I can’t say it enough – we thank you, with great love in our hearts, for all your kindness, support, good wishes and prayers over this last year.
Moved in Sundry Places 
Happy Thanksgiving. We should all take this time to give thanks for those that we love and to remember how precious life is!
A very happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you! Your reflections on giving thanks apply to everyone in every situation, whether the grave problems you’ve faced over the past year or simply the ordinary vicissitudes most of the rest of us face.
Beautiful, Scott – those two words, thank you, are some of the most powerful and magical in the English language. xxxooo and Thank you!
Many thanks to you and Mary Elizabeth for your treasured friendship. Your posting, as always, reminds us all what is important and good in our lives. Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
xoxo
Beautiful sentiments. Much love to you all on Thanksgiving!
Here, Here!! May I add my many thanks to you and Mary Elizabeth for sharing your spirit and kindness and friendship and inspiration for the past 11 months.
what a lovely posting – Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family…
This reads like a beautiful liturgy that really resonates–in fact, more so than much of the church I’ve gone to lately. Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Scott & Mary Elizabeth, I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, but more importantly, to give you thanks for you courage and the love you show for each other. Very inspiring. Mary Elizabeth, you have many friends at your old stomping ground that ask after you often, and wish you nothing but good things. Happy Thanksgiving, Liz
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Happy Thanksgiving to you all. I hope you take comfort in each other and enjoy this wonderful holiday.
Theresa Koubek
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Ben
Thank YOU Scott for your thoughtful and inspiring words. We wish you and your whole family a truly joyful Thanksgiving celebration today! Love Mel and Michael x
Happy Thanksgiving to Scott and Mary Elizabeth and everyone who has participated in this wonderful blog. It’s so heartening to see such an outpouring of caring from all of you.
Thanks, Scott for that thoughtful and meaningful message. I found you and Mary Elizabeth to be an amazing couple before the stroke and that has been compounded exponentially since December 9, 2009. Your children too have inherited that “amazing” gene. Hope you all had a peaceful Thanksgiving and a long weekend to relax and share together. xxoob
Hi Mary Elizabeth and Scott
Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your family. I follow your postings constantly and you are in my prayers everyday. Scott – believe it or not, I rarely check my land phone and I just got your message from 2 weeks ago. I would love to see Mary Elizabeth and You et al very soon. I will call you to set up a visit. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of this beautiful weekend. You have been an inspiration to everyone who has read this blog.
Regards
carol
Dear Scott and Mary Elizabeth,
I checked for new posts often in recent weeks, but not since before Thanksgiving! Wow, it has been a great blessing to get to know you a little bit, although I guess I fall in the category of folks you don’t know.
However, you are quite right in noting that the Lord has supported you intensely through the many who have rallied to pray for you and be there for you physically as well. Would you also pray for me as I have a thyroidectomy scheduled for December 15?
So glad to hear that that you are expressing thankfulness meaning things are still on the upswing for you. May the Lord strengthen you to persevere.
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” ~Psalm 136: 1
Yours in Annandale, Virgina,
Maria E.
Sometimes we lose sight of what we have to be thankful for. Thank you for the reminder…life is precious and we need to thank God for all our blessings.
Each day we need to trust that God is walking with us and will bring us safely through the day. I pray each day that Mary Elizabeth is getting stronger as strong as the love you have for each other.
God bless you always,
Bob & Carol Gross
Scott, thank you once again for putting it all in prespective for us with your wonderful blog and sincere sentiments. We all have so much to be thankful for indeed. Happy to hear that you guys are doing well and that MEB is still progressing so nicely. Wishing you and your beautiful family a happy and joyful holiday season.
Claudia Perillo
N.C.M.O.T.C.