Ye Olde Thanksgiving holiday

Being one of those tiresome sorts of people who are always acutely aware of how lucky we are in life, I don’t become particularly misty-eyed around the holidays. However, this IS a blog – as such, it would seem an oversight of sorts not to comment on a holiday that, at its very soul, was inspired only as an occasion for people to pause and reflect on all of life’s goodness – even when it might seem that the good stuff is outweighed by the bad.

The news is always full of stories about horrific things that happen around the globe. There is never a shortage of war, famine, floods, drought, stupid politicians, animal cruelty and basic human injustice on a wide scale. When you catch yourself thinking, “The world’s gone mad”, that’s as good a time as any to clutch closer the nearness of beloved things or people that keep us sane. It should be a daily event.

My best friend is my amazing husband – who I really think of more as a boyfriend, even after 21 years of marriage. I am still humbly grateful for the combined circumstances that led to my crossing the country during my 20’s to land in the same town he grew up in, so I could meet him, marry him, and have this amazing relationship. Those were some very long odds that I beat - I don’t see myself taking that lightly. That’s the main thing I’m grateful for.

I can roll out of my bed every day with two feet to hit the floor, and I have a job to go to every day. Okay, sometimes my aging legs feel tired, my back hurts, I’m grumpy, sleepy, and feeling the hate of working full time – but it’s a momentary indulgence to what are actually minor annoyances, since if any of that were to be lost, I’d be one sad sack.

So, hurray for everything that’s good in my life, feel the bliss of knowing my family and friends are alive and well - and I have nothing more pressing to do today than start mixing the dough for my delicious crescent rolls. I made the cherry pie last night at 11:30 – late start because I remembered at 9:00 PM that I was out of shortening, so my best friend made a little store run to help out. After finally settling the top crust over the cherries, I thought about making my vent slits into a giant smiley face, but instead made a little round center hole and slashed sunrays all around it. Yeah, I’m living in Georgia during a 100-year drought, but what the hell. It’s actually raining at the moment. So hurray for the sun, too.

Hope you all have a lot to feel thankful for, too. Enjoy the day.