Happy Thanksgiving!

Great Smoky Mountains, TN, some truly awesome rocks!

Thanksgiving Day is here and I've finally given myself permission to do some reminiscing about what I am truly thankful for. With the subject of this blog in mind, I think a story from my childhood is a good start to explaining why I feel that I am a blessed person.

As a child, I loved to collect rocks. It wasn't unusual for me to grab a grocery bag and con my mother into accompanying me for a children's version of a rock hound expedition. The couple blocks that would take us to an area that had a sloped hill filled with the objects of my quest were a chance for my mom and I to have some quality time together. We would diligently search through piles of stones, looking for the 'pretty' ones. My concentration was truly dedicated to the subject at hand and the walk home would be filled with questions about the incredible finds that I had collected. My mom, who probably wasn't nearly as interested in rocks as I was, did her best to field the questions and always encouraged my youthful enthusiasm in regards to my hobby.

My dad was also very much a part of my geological education. Boxes of 'pretty' stones soon appeared after he realized my interest in them. He took the time to study with me and I began to learn about my hobby. Soon I knew that amethyst and citrine were both quartz. I learned that moonstone wasn't really from the moon (although ancient Romans and Hindus both believed it was formed from moonlight), but is actually a feldspar, which shows aspects of adularescence, having a milky or bluish iridescence. When cut in a cabochon, the moonstone sometimes displays chatoyancy, a changeable luster, such as a cats-eye.

That the beautiful opal, my birthstone, shows play-of-color and is formed when

Opal vein. What a beautiful gift from nature!

rainwater soaks down into the earth, along with dissolved silica. When the rain evaporates, the silica is deposited between layers of sedimentary rock. The dissolved silica then forms the opal. Opals always conjured up visions of Australia, so very far away from home. Mines with names like Coober Pedy and Lightning Ridge, revved up my imagination of adventure and intrigue. I'm astounded by the beauty of the opal. This photograph of a true opal vein shows the results of this incredible process. You wouldn't think it could actually be real, but I saw it for myself when my parents visited Australia and brought a natural rock with an opal vein running through it back home with them.

My parents gave me the awesome opportunity to attend the University of Wisconsin, another reason to consider myself to be truly blessed. One of my favorite college classes was geology, where I learned about the layers of earth. About fossils and minerals and rocks. About eras and eons. I soaked the knowledge in and have never seemed to want to forget it. In later years I took my first class in gemology. I learned about colored gemstones and again, the information has stuck with me forever. 

Being able to grow in knowledge is such a blessing in itself. The advantages I had of learning about this incredible planet was just one of hundreds of blessings that my parents bestowed upon me. They were always interested in me and what I was interested in.   

So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks that I had the best parents that a person could possibly ever have. That I have a fantastic family and great friends and that I live in a country that still holds tremendous opportunities for learning, success and happiness.

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