Thanksgiving 2009

So here we are at Thanksgiving already, and what a year it’s been. I can’t say it has been my best year, but given the state of the world, I definitely have a lot for which to be thankful.

I’m not home in North Carolina this year, and I really wish I was. I wasn’t feeling at all well Monday night/Tuesday morning, so I didn’t make the drive. Given that more people were expected to travel this year, I certainly didn’t want to try it Wednesday, but now I wish I had. I haven’t missed many Thanksgivings at home.

We saw the economy crash down at the end of last year, and many people have lost their jobs over the course of the year. For me, a lot didn’t go as expected this year so every single bill isn’t getting paid right now, but I still have a job, I still have my house, the lights are own, and for all of that, I am thankful. These are often things we take for granted, but this year has helped me realize how blessed I’ve been.

Everyone in the family is more or less healthy. My brother-in-law had a recent hospital stay due to some sort of infection, but in the scheme of things, that wasn’t too bad. Lay finally got his Citizenship after a bit of a scare, and he received his Firefighter Certification. Now if he can just find a job to put it to use.

I remain thankful for the handful of friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin over the years. I hope each of you are blessed with friends such as the ones I’m privileged to have.

I think this year I am especially thankful for Dalla my niece on Lay’s side. She can certainly be a bit of brat sometimes, but she reminds me how a ride around the backyard in a wagon can be a great expedition, how eating Cool Whip can be an adventure, and how if one hides under a sheet while sitting on the couch, one becomes invisible to everyone else…so long as you are “vwery-vwery quiet.”

I guess I would characterize this year as being a quiet year, a year mostly about surviving and just trying to make it to whatever is next. That journey has been much easier for me than for many. I am thankful for that blessing, and pray earnestly for help, comfort and relief for those not nearly so lucky. I am thankful that sometimes I can help, and I pray for more opportunities to do for others.

So here’s a glass raised to each of us, one and all, with hearty thanks for what we do have, as great or as little as it may be, and here’s to a 2010 Thanksgiving that offers even more for which to be thankful.