Giving Thanks

This time of year is a time I reflect on where I am, where I've been, how I got here and where next year will take me.  Nashville, I never imagined I would end up in the middle of TN.  I honestly believed I would be home by now.  But, it seems fate has other plans, which has kept me here.  I tend to reminence about home and the state of Wisconsin, which was where I was raised, went to school, obtain my degree and think about   often.  This is the most difficult part of the year as I reflect, back home in Wisconsin my heart still lies.
I miss home.  I miss it during the summer, because there is no better summer than in Wisconsin.  I miss it in the fall because the leaves are absolutely amazing and there is a crispness to the air.  The winters are magical, the snow, the ice covered tree's, the hustle and bustle of the shoppers among the Holiday excitement.
There is something special about that area with the snow covered lawns decorated with Christmas lights.  The stores are beautiful and as you step out of the mall, you step into a winter wonderland of snow.
Here, in Middle TN, we have no snow.  When we get snow it will last for about three hours and then it is gone into the abyss.  I hope for the day when I am able to travel more, and go home more frequently.  If not more frequently, then at least for a longer time during this time of year.
I am very thankful for many things in my life.  My family, my friends, this business which is growing and for jobs that pay the rent.  I give thanks for my best friend, Dave, who is home with family for the first time in years.  I am thankul for my other best friend, Di, who has three beautiful girls to watch gleam during the joyous mystic of the Holiday. 
I hope that all of you out there are enjoying this Holiday season.  I pray that you too have things to be Thankful for and family or friends to spend time with and to sit around a table full of wonderful food waiting to be shared.

Scenes from home, my horses in their pasture and the typical look of the barn this time of year.  A nice cover of snow on the roof.  You can see where the weight of the snow became too much and slide from the barn roof.  In the bottom right corner you can see a pile of snow beginning to build.
There is nothing like winter in Wisconsin, so often it reminds me of the classic Christmas from the 1920's or 1950's.  When life was more simple, and not so full of distractions.