Wednesday Gratitude #17 at Heart and Home: Lemons and Another Step Forward

Greetings one and all!
Hi to you new readers, and a big welcome back to followers of Heart and Home.


                        

Today is Wednesday Gratitude, if you're here to join, the link will be up by 5:30 PM PST. Add the direct link for your Wednesday Gratitude post, and please link back to Heart and Home in that post. Remember to leave a comment, and visit the other participants, too!

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"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is

 not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

You might be wondering what these lemons have to do with anything today.

Wondering if I'm going to be waxing poetic about my gratitude for lemons.

Well, yes, I do love a nice looking lemon!

And these are especially lemony looking, piled in a bowl on my dining room table.

But no, that's not what this post is about! However, they do figure in, in a way.

Daughter #2 is completing middle school today.

It looks like she's on her way! Next year she'll start high school, and after that, who knows?!!

Knowing this girl the way I do, I'd say the sky's the limit.

I'm feeling particularly sentimental about all of this, because #2 is the last one, my baby. She's growing up, and fast.

She's proven herself to be a pretty terrific kid.

I'm  grateful for my daughter, and for her unceasing hard work over the past three years.

She's devoted herself to doing her absolute best at every opportunity.

She's rarely let us, or herself, down in any way. And even then, they've been only small infractions of the parental expectations.

I'm grateful that, for the most part, she's made it easy for me and her dad.

Given the opportunity, she makes the right choices.

Which is a good thing, because she doesn't like being told what to do!

Spirited and strong-willed are two ways to describe her.

Plus a million other characteristics I'm grateful for.  If I wrote them all down, this would be a very long post indeed.

But, I can tell you this much:

She's been a shining star since the day she was born, and from here her future looks really bright.

Along the way she's had some help.

I'm grateful for my daughter's teachers, for their skills, their patience and kindness, and for their devotion to their chosen profession.

I'm grateful for their encouragement and support, for their eagerness, and for their abilities and talents.

I'm grateful for way they can reach young people, and inspire them to try their hardest, to work without giving up, to persevere and achieve their goals, and to be the best they can be.

Which is what we, as parents, are trying to do every day, too.

But often, and anyone who has kids knows this, our little gems of wisdom aren't accepted the same way they are when they come from a respected and well-liked teacher.

As in, they aren't accepted!  At all.

But I have to say, for the most part it's been a breeze with our girl.

She's done really well, and made us proud.

She deserves some recognition, and a party, and treats to eat.

Which is what I will be doing tomorrow, preparing for a small party celebrating #2's achievements.

And baking lemon bars. Therefore, the lemons!
I told you they figured in!

Thanks for dropping by today! It might get a little crazy around here in the next day or two, but I'll try to visit every one of you as soon as I can.
If you are new to Heart and Home I hope you'll be back again soon! And if you like what you saw today, why not become a follower, or subscribe for e-mail updates? You'll be glad you did!

Until next time,
XO
Heidi