During the Holiday season, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m reminded to take time to think about the things that are important and what makes me grateful in my life.  Of course, my family and friends…those near and far, and the health and wellbeing of those same people are on top of the list.

   Additionally, this year I have extra things to be thankful for as we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our new house along Turah Road and will soon be putting up a Christmas tree that we’ll pluck from somewhere around the Turah - Clinton area, I’m thinking.  We enjoy walks to the Clark Fork River, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the backdoor.  We enjoy the beauty and serenity of the property around the house, even taking time to play games of hide and seek in the dark with our 4 children (actually they call it “Ghosts in the Graveyard”…wild imagination they have). 

 I’m especially thankful for the traditional stories handed down from my family about the importance of Mother Earth and the living and breathing things that have sustained us for time immemorial.  Water has life giving properties as well as the rocks, mud, sand and earth. 
“Be thankful and make an offering to Mother Earth for the beauty and sustenance provided and afforded to everyone,” I hear in the stories told by my father and the elders from home.  At this time, I’m reminded, however, that we don’t own the land, the river, or the earth. It is given to us to be stewards of the environment and ensure that my children and others that come after us will be able to enjoy it the same way we did.

So until the cracking of the ice and free flowing water when our son will be able to trek down to the River and see what’s popping or jumping out of the water, we’ll  continue to enjoy our little “slice of heaven” near the Clark Fork and Confluence of the Rivers.  
Happy Holidays and peace and wellness to you and your family!
Alice