The last 5 days I’ve been in Chattanooga, Tennessee visiting my dad, his wife and family.

Dad gave me a tour of ST ELMO, where he grew up!

… The store his parents built and managed.

(Entrepreneurship is in my blood! My grandma, in particular, was a hard working business woman.)

… The house he lived in – perched on a hill in the woods.

… The school and church he attended.

… The road where he played football with his friends.

We visited the grave sight where his mother and aunt – my grandmother and great aunt – are buried.

At 48, my awareness and appreciation of the generations before me is greater than it used to be.

In my younger years, I took advantage of what I had.

Some of it was simply innocence, and a lack of reflection and understanding of the hardships, risks and challenges they encountered and overcame.

Today I’m giving thanks to my dad and those who have gone before me.

Thanks, dad.

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” ~Henry David Thoreau

With all that I am,

Kendra E Thornbury, MA