30 Days of Thanks- Mom and Dad

Hank and Dottie Werner

30 days of Thanks would not be complete without a shout out to my parents.   Hank and Dottie were pretty amazing parents (although I was a pretty amazing child, so parenting had to be fairly simple.....)  I share their engagement picture because I had no idea my parents were movie stars! Seriously, does this picture look like a movie poster?   Earlier on this blog I have shared thanks to my mom., and I have shared some thoughts about my dad as well, but today I share total gratitude for the people who have helped me become who I am. 

In 1962 two amazing people adopted a little cute baby in Lexington, Kentucky.   Hank worked at IBM and Dottie was a stay-at-home mom.  I was told that one morning, while leaning out of my crib to watch my dad shave I did a header out of the crib and landed on the floor and in the hospital.  (So when people ask, "Where you dropped on your head as a baby?" The answer is a resounding, "Yes! Why do you ask?"  

Just a few short years later we are living in Boulder, Colorado living in a hotel while the house gets ready to move in.   Seemingly the TV got a little boring and I did not like what was on, so I took two feet and kicked it over.  I am amazed I am still alive.



For the kid who amazingly survived childhood I am sure my parents questioned working so hard to keep me alive once I became a teenager.  I pushed every limit, whined constantly, begged for stuff, and must have made them look up the adoption agency at least once to see if the return policy had expired.   A quick trip to Tucson, Arizona proved if Hank wanted to kill me he had ample opportunity.  No one would have found my body in the desert, and frankly, no one would have blamed Hank if I "disappeared."  But, he didn't ever kill me, and for that I am truly grateful.

I am who I am because these people raised me. Their blood doesn't run through my veins, but I am their daughter, no doubt about it.  I am as stubborn as Hank, (Who, at 83 refuses to give up driving back and forth from Wyoming to Colorado)   And occasionally as kind as Dottie, who has been gone since I was 17 years old, and taught me to think of others before myself.  I still struggle with that, but someday, I may get there.


Forget the stupid stuff your parents did, heck, we all make mistakes and they were trying to do the best they could.  For Dottie and Hank, that was no easy task.... and I was the GOOD kid!!!    I know not everyone had a great family.  Heck, by some standards mine was pretty screwed up.  But one thing that never failed was that Hank and Dottie loved me.  They still do.   They were the ones who taught me that, even though I am only one random woman, I can make a difference.   So can you..... Being Thankful is one way to truly make a difference.  Will you?