Thanksgiving - Again

Today is Thanksgiving all over again for me.  I am so grateful today for pilots.  Yesterday, my daughter's plane had to make an emergency landing - both engines failed while in flight.  The pilot landed the plane safely and no one was hurt.  God, Divine Providence, the Goddess, Fate, Kismet, the Universe - whatever you want to call the sacred energy that lives within us all - was with the pilot and co-pilot to put that plane, carrying my beloved daughter, down safely.  I am so grateful to them for allowing me the possibility of seeing my daughter walk down the aisle towards the man of her dreams, for giving me another opportunity to give her a big hug and inhaling the scent of her shampoo which always reminds me of  her baby scent (even though she is in her twenties), for the chance to tell her just one more time how proud I am of all the obstacles she has already overcome in her life.  I am grateful for the chance to hear her laugh again, and to see her grow into the woman she is meant to be.  I've been given another opportunity to watch her face light up as she rides a horse - such a deep passion of hers.  I've been given another opportunity to be joyful that even though my family (just she and I) is small, we love each other.

That's what it's all about, right?  Love?  I think so.  Yesterday I was reminded in a cruel way just how quickly you can lose the one you love.  I was emotionally devestated yesterday.  When Alysha first called me and told me what had happened, I couldn't breathe.  I literally couldn't breathe.  After she assured me that she wasn't hurt, the realization hit me of what almost-was.  I had a blinding flash of how empty my life would be without her in it.  We do a lot of things together and really enjoy being with each other.  We love to have adventures - we took off one day to western NC just to go gem-mining for the fun of it.  When she was younger, I took her to Shackleford Banks so we could see the ponies and have a nice little beach adventure.  Our nice little trip turned into a scary event for a few minutes - we were charged by a mama horse protecting a newborn foal and had to run like crazy to protect ourselves.  My point is, we always have adventures together and wouldn't have it any other way...it makes for an interesting life. 

So Mr. Pilot and Co-Pilot, I'm very grateful for your training and appreciative of your calm efforts to land the plane safely with harm coming to none.  Today is truly my Thanksgiving Day - thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping my daughter safe for another day.