Thankful Thoughts on Thanksgiving Day

Some of you know me on Facebook and also know that I spend the month of November harping on gratitude. That's after I spend the month of October harping on mammograms -- and how you need to get them done!

And after I spend the entire year harping on not using the 'R' word.

I do my best to entertain, after all.

Although I spend an extraordinary amount of time harping ... I also spend every day feeling grateful, thankful, appreciative -- call it what you will -- for the every day funnies, the on-line friendships, the real-time friendships, my family, my work, your work (because some of you had been unemployed and some of you still may be), good health, helpful people, prayers from others and prayers for others. I am forever whispering "Thank-you God" in appreciation of answered prayers and sometimes the ones I think go unanswered. Because, as we all know, God answers them all, but occasionally the answer is a decided, "NO" [insert thunder booming and a lightning strike here]. It may take a while to recognize that.

I am grateful to our military personnel who week in and week out, work to keep our freedom alive and well and living in America. I am thankful for police, fire, EMTs, for without them, mayhem might ensue. Okay, sometimes it does in spite of best efforts.

I am appreciative of a good vodka, a great cup of coffee, a waiter or waitress who serves me. It is without a doubt a most thankless job, so if you are one, know that I appreciate your long hours, your tired, swollen legs and feet and how miserable some people can be. I applaud you and I appreciate you. And I tip well!

I hate doctors, but am thankful for them. I love nurses ... you are the best. Lab techs, x-rays techs, support staff ... sometimes just the smile you bring in to a room with you is all it takes to make a day, no a life, better. So, just when you're feeling no one notices or cares or appreciates you, remember, I do.

I think fall leaves on trees are beautiful, not so much on the ground all brown and crispy. But I love hearing them beneath my feet when I take a walk. Those old dead leaves add a little something to the footfall. The pond down the road, the one with the view ... how I love to snap a photo each season ... to mark the years I've enjoyed driving by on my way into work.

Ocean waves crashing to shore, churning shells, pebbles and sand into a symphony of sound. Birds all a twitter and crows, (yeah, even those noisy buggers) black as night, a glimpse of them flying over head against the bright cloudless, blue sky.

There's much to be grateful for every day of my life, although I'm not sure about traffic but I do like my wheels. Travel is great, returning home is better. How thankful I am to lay my head on that feather ... pillow, so soft and scrunched and just right. A roof over my head to keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer and windows that open in spring and in fall.

I'm grateful and thankful for family -- good and bad, happy and sad, joyous and proud. We really are one crazy, loud crowd. We're getting together today at my house, just one more thing to add to my list.

Thanksgiving is just that extra special day of the year to remember our friends and those we hold dear. It's a day to give a little more than we get. So I'll say, "Thank you!" right now and Happy Thanksgiving too! From my house to your house -- I do mean it all year though.