What I'm Thankful For.

Thanksgiving!  The day where families get together and celebrate all the blessings received in the past year.

(Not to be confused with Festivus, where you explain in great detail how each of your family members and dinner guests have disappointed you.)

No, this is Turkeyday.   A day of tons of food, unabashed gluttony, football and most likely a nap.

I usually try to be thankful for the little things each day.  Comfortable shoes, green lights, friendly smiles and the Three Stooges.  The simple pleasures.  But really what's a little thing is a matter of perspective.

This year, I'm thankful for my family.  Each year we seem to be smaller and more geographically scattered but we're hanging in there.  Despite disagreements and challenges, we continue to support each other through a foundation of love. My mother, my sister, my nephew, all of my family are truly a wonder.

I'm thankful for my friends, new and old.  I don't make friends as easily or as often as I did in my youth but each of them, far too many to list, have a special place in my heart.  I hope in reading this you realize how important you all are to me.  Many of you have given me a lift in times when I needed it, offered words of encouragement and helped me maintain my balance.

I'm thankful that yesterday there were more volunteers at my local food bank than necessary and I wasn't needed.  I like to be needed but this is one instance where I wish a business no influx of new customers. If you have the time and resources, I encourage you to seek out your local food bank.  It's an important cause filling a desperate need.

I'm thankful for a roof over my head and food at my table. I'm thankful I'm healthy.  I'm thankful I'm someplace warm.  I'm thankful I'm one of the fortunate ones to have a job in this economy.  There are far too many in this world without these blessings and they are in my thoughts and prayers. Despite a long year, I really have so many blessings and an impossible task of enumerating them all appropriately.

Mostly I'm just thankful that I'm fortunate enough  to be thankful.  I'm alive and tomorrow the sun will rise; no matter what happens I'll be thankful for that, too.