HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

If you're up to your eyebrows in pie crust and stuffing or embroiled in the Game of the Day (providing there is one this year), you won't likely take time out to read a blog post about giving thanks. So, this week's post is coming to you a day early!

I've heard various comments on this year's events--"The Year of No Graduation" or "The Year of No 4th of July" or "No Birthday Party" or . . . .

Certainly, we're operating under a handicap here--but take it from me, there are plenty of things to be thankful for. So let's get to it!

First--let's have a few reminders; they're not ground rules, just some thoughts that might've escaped through the net when you weren't looking. For example:

--giving thanks can occur any time--any place--in any circumstance

--you don't need a reminder--giving thanks can be, if you let it, a natural expression of your life

--by its nature, giving thanks is a positive thing

--and my personal favorite: giving thanks for one thing always (and I do mean always) summons up something else to be thankful for

Next--some examples from my own life:

--I'm thankful for abundant food--from grocery stores, farmers' markets, canned goods from my family's gardens; and pumpkin pie (with whipped cream, of course), veggies to roast, chickens and turkeys in great number at the store

--I'm thankful for a year of having to make-do, or reconfigure the old ways. We had concerts by professional musicians who performed from their homes--and many of them played or sang "as a group," all done digitally. I read about folks who used imaginative ways to help their children celebrate holidays when the old tried-and-true didn't work--stuffed animals displayed in windows for all to see and enjoy on a neighborhood walk; trick-or-treat managed without handling the treats or getting closer than social distancing allowed. 

--I'm thankful education continued--yes, it was difficult, and still is; but we are convinced that schooling is important and should continue, one way or another.

--I'm thankful for modern technology. (Never thought I'd come out so firmly on the plus side of all the tech stuff.) Getting in touch with family, friends, and business associates is easy, even for seasoned folks like me. I can have a concert any time I turn on YouTube. And I could read books online, but that's one I'm happy to leave to others; holding a book or magazine in my hands, now that's happiness.

--finally, I'm thankful that we have ways to share our thankfulness--Facebook has 30 Days of Gratitude each year. All kinds of blogs ring out with voices that are seldom heard. (I looked for a dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe and read little stories from people's lives, just from finding a recipe.)

Your Turn--Are you thankful for something special? Anything at all? 

Start your list with three things. Go on, a piece of scrap paper and a pencil won't bite you. Three things. Now lay that aside and go do something else. Give yourself a while to let your thoughts incubate. Think of something else? Put it on the paper with the other three things.

Just so you know--this isn't a contest. There isn't a prize at the end. But you will be a winner, I guarantee it, because you will have given voice to your own thanksgivings. 

Until next time, blessings!

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