Thankful

As I lay in bed this morning I was thinking about our last Red Hat meeting that was Tuesday evening and thinking that I should post my 30 days of thankfulness..........so here goes:

The November meeting was so nice....the 3 hostesses had it set up so pretty - the tables were arranged in a big square so everyone could see everyone else, adorable hand made place cards with our names led us to our seat, Thanksgiving confetti was scattered on the tables, there was a pretty fall mug filled with snacks at each place setting, several nice door prizes were handed out (although that is not the point), the placements were hand stamped and decorated with a Thanksgiving theme, etc. There are 18 women in our group, it's a nice size and we will probably not go over 20......we like it smallish so we can get to know each member.
One of the things we did was everyone said something they were thankful for. The first woman to speak, (wife of a retired Pastor) who is very quiet, said she was thankful for our group.....a diverse group, but yet we have so much in common....we allow her to be herself and get out with friends. I imagine that being a Pastors wife puts you in the public eye and you have to watch your behavior...but we only know her as Lesley, not the Pastor's wife.
We are a 'youngish' group, our youngest member is 52 and the oldest is 74, and many of us are working. The past couple of years have been traumatic for the members who have lost a spouse or parent. Our circle of thankfulness was emotional for some, but we are sisters and share each others ups and downs.
I, too, am thankful for my women friends. I have always stressed that your girlfriends should not be packed away when you marry and never be discarded because of a boyfriend. Many times I have only had women or myself to rely on, part of the reason I value women friends so highly. Hey, we often outlive our men....wonder why? Maybe because God knows we can survive better with the help of girlfriends.
What are you thankful for?