Thanksgiving

Dorky Husbands: Another thing to be thankful for every day.

Okay, y'all. I must admit, my Thanksgiving was awesome. My husband, daughter and I did not go to Raleigh or Rockingham to visit family this year like we usually do, because we just took a trip back east earlier this month and got to see pretty much everyone. So we decided to save the gas for Christmas this year. We were thinking it was just going to be another quiet day in the RV (or "bus", as our 3 year old daughter calls it), but as it turns out, we got a last minute invitation from some friends to come spend Thanksgiving with them at a vacation house in Yancey County.

So we went, and it was wonderful. The vacation house had been rented for three days by a group of friends who wanted to have a big Turkey Day throwdown. There were about twenty five people and fifteen dogs in attendance, and everyone brought a dish or two to share, potluck style. The house was beautiful, complete with a fishing pond and a jacuzzi on the back deck. We met a lot of new people and got to spend some time with some old friends we hadn't seen in awhile. The food was fantastic (although I filled myself up on appetizers like spanakopita and crackers with brie before dinner was ready). There certainly was an awful lot to appreciate.

But isn't there always? Perhaps if we could spend every day in a state of appreciation, our lives would be easier and happier. It's not as if there's a shortage of things to be thankful for every day except Thanksgiving. For instance, I always have access, without even trying, to a mixture of gases that is suitable for my lungs to breathe. I am ALIVE! I have a brain that can do a wide variety of things that are so incredible that no scientist has quite figured out how it works. I'm probably the most miraculous thing I can think of, actually. My brain, my body, my spirit, and the universe, working together seamlessly and I don't even have to give it a second thought. That's just basic stuff that pretty much everyone can count on their everyday list of things to appreciate. I know not everyone has a family, or a house, or a car... but everyone, no matter what, can be thankful for the miracle that is this reality and his or her opportunity to actually participate in it. There was even a time when I didn't have much food for a couple years. Often I went to bed hungry. But I even learned to be thankful for that. The great thing about hunger pangs is that they are proof you're still alive.

Not only that, but if you think about it, pretty much everything you try to do works out perfectly, I'd say about 98% of the time, for most of us. When was the last time you wanted to eat, yet couldn't find any food? When was the last time you needed to eliminate, and couldn't find a suitable place to do it before you had an embarrassing accident? When was the last time you turned on the TV and found that all the stations had stopped broadcasting? When was the last time you wanted to read a book and and you suddenly went blind for the rest of the day? Sure, sometimes things don't work out as planned or expected, but really, on the whole, most things work out great. Why not focus on all the little things that go well for us instead of the couple little snags we hit each day? The only answer I can think of is that we must be insane. Literally. I mean, if you wake up and everything falls into place all morning, from waking to dressing to tooth brushing to eating breakfast, literally hundreds of things have gone right for you already. But then if you go outside and step in a pile of dog doo, all of a sudden you're having a bad day. What sense does that make? Go change your frickin shoes and be grateful you have an extra pair!

Just some food for thought (as if you weren't stuffed like a turkey already). Happy Thanksgiving!!!