Taking a Few Days Off

Happy Thanksgiving, all! I am putting down the brushes and taking some time off to, among other things, be thankful during this week. I am grateful to God for the eyes he gave me that see color in shadows and differing tones in sunlight as the day passes. I am thankful that my eyes constantly perceive form, and that roses are hard to paint becasue they are just that beeautiful. I am grateful that women have curves, and that metals reflect, that every piece of fruit is as different as humans are from each other, and that real beauty is to be found beneath the skin. I am grateful for the people that come into my life, for those I will see each day, for those I may never see again, and for those I will only see on the Other Shore. I am thankful that I can make a living doing something I love, and that what I do also connects to other people. I am thankful that I live in America, where the Thanksgiving tradition has its deepest roots, and where our forefathers understood Divine Providence, from which I benefit as surely as did they. I am thankful to have been re-united with my sons this year, and to have an ongoing loving relationship with my daughter. I am grateful even for the pains of life, for I know that it builds character, which is much more important than my comfort or happiness.