Happy Thanksgiving! I imagine that you all are ready for the feasting and football. What? You haven’t slain the turkey yet? We haven’t either, because there will be no “traditional” Thanksgiving in our family this year. With our children scattered around the country, my Sweet Spousal Unit and I haven’t had a real Thanksgiving since we married, although we have attended the feasts thrown by other members of the family. This year, we are quietly celebrating — just the two of us.
That doesn’t mean I’m not thankful, though. Oh, I am, indeed. Since it’s Thursday, and there was a meme I in which I once participated called Thursday Thirteen (I had some pretty funny Thursday Thirteen posts), I thought I’d remind myself of thirteen things for which I am thankful.
- I’m thankful that I woke up this morning. At my age, that is always a pleasant surprise. Not only did I wake up, but it’s a crisp autumn morning … a perfect fall day.
- I have delightful children and family members. Even though I won’t see them for a Thanksgiving feast, I know that they are there.
- I don’t have to eat turkey! Y’all, turkey is OK, but it is not my favorite meat. Perhaps if it were fried in bacon grease I would enjoy it more, but I’m delighted that I won’t see it on my plate this year. Did you know that 45 million turkeys were sacrificed for this holiday? Makes you feel guilty, doesn’t it?
- If the thought of murdering turkey bothers you, there was a show on NPR yesterday that might have interested you. The radio was talking about recipes for vegan Thanksgiving. The guest described a recipe using seitan to replicate smothered pork chops. I’m thankful I don’t have to eat seitan!
- I’m grateful that if I wanted to eat either of those things, I could afford to do so. I know I’m lucky.
- I’m grateful that my husband doesn’t care about football. He will watch it, but he doesn’t have to see it. I might have found the only man in Texas who isn’t a football fan (and that’s probably just because he is imported from California).
- I’m grateful that we have some movies from Netflix, so we don’t have to watch television fare (The Illusionist, Lady in the Water, and Labyrinth are waiting).
- Although my coffee house is closed for the holiday (who do they think they are, anyway?) I have my own teeny tiny espresso machine in case of emergencies. The mochas that I make are not nearly as good as the ones served by my barrista at Jupiter House, but an addict will take whatever she can find when she is in a pinch.
- I’m filled with gratitude that the milk isn’t sour!
- Knock wood, we haven’t gotten the swine flu or any other respiratory ailment this year. That’s pretty unusual, because when I tell stories in public schools I get exposed to every ailment there is. So far, I haven’t brought home any “souvenirs.”
- This morning, I stepped upstairs to water my plants and discovered that my Christmas cactus had exploded into blossom. That plant needs some “reality orientation,” but it was a beautiful surprise.
- Over the last several days, I have taken some time off from blogging to deal with the real world. I am eternally grateful that my inner guilt meter has not gone haywire over that. I hope to get back to regular blogging before the next month starts.
- And, yes, I am darned thankful for the blogging friends I have made over the last three years. Although I might never meet any of you in person, having that network of on-line support makes me happy every day. Thank you all for the good times you have given me.
There you have it. Thirteen reasons to be thankful, and I didn’t even scratch the surface. Y’all enjoy your turkey, your football, and most of all your family! I hope this is a day that will give you splendid memories.
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{ 14 comments }
I absolutely loved this post. We’re not having turkey either. I was glad to wake up this morning even though last night I prayed for sleep.
We didn’t murder our resident turkey, we’ve been feeding her. I got my H1N1 shot on Monday, resulted in a headache and sore left arm.
I don’t have a christmas cactus, don’t know why cause I like them. I do having living plants in Denver, but damn if I’m dragging them back and forth like we do the birds and dogs. They are on their own a lot and they do swell. The less care I give them it seems the more they thrive.
Do I count in one of those friends, I’ve been horrible in staying in touch with you….
Dinner bell is ringing..tootles!
.-= janeywan´s last blog ..The sound of water =-.
Of COURSE you counts, silly girl. I wish we could talk more often. One of these days I might get to meet you because I could travel to Colorado
Happy Thanksgiving… ours was in October and I didn’t get turkey either. That’s because I couldn’t find a small one in Athens, sigh. I do love turkey. My Christmas cactus is blooming too, has been for two weeks now. It too is confused. Even more confusing is that my roses outside are showing signs of life, end of November, in cold Canada, go figure…ciao
.-= rositta´s last blog ..I Am Alive =-.
I think my cactus got confused because the weather got cold
. They sure are pretty when they bloom, aren’t they? I just hope the cats don’t eat it when I travel!
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Shelly!!! NO turkey on Thanksgiving? Hmmmmm….I can’t say I’m a big turkey fan, but it’s one of those “gotta do” things for me. What did you two dine on today?
I’m so hooked on TV lately, I can’t believe it. It’s an escape thing, I suppose, but I’m trying to blog more and more. I’m very thankful you are my bestest bloggy buddy!
Love you!
.-= Jessica The Rock Chick´s last blog ..Lou Lou’s Corner =-.
Love you, too, Darlin’. I am glad you are blogging again. Now, somebody let me stay home long enough to get to READ! I don’t have to eat turkey. We had eaten out the night before, and I just made a huge pot of soup. It felt pretty good not to pig out!
Our Thanksgiving fare was pretty much the traditional stuff -which does include turkey.
I loved your thankful for list though and your #1 matches mine completely. Number 2 on my list -after waking up -would be can I manage to get up out of bed without falling!
I’m thinking the reason the Christmas Cactus plants are blooming so early is that they got caught up in all the hoopla and early Christmas advertising and it confused them. I’ll have to remember to tell that to Suldog as another reason why the Christmas advertisements should be held back till after Thanksgiving.
Oh and the triptophan (or whatever that tripto stuff is in turkey that they say makes one sleepy after eating it, really did a number on me today. Dinner was at 2 p.m. and by 4:30, daughter Mandy and I had everything put away, dishes done and all that and by 5 p.m., I was out like a light till around 8:30 p.m. Now, I’m enjoying coffee, pie and reading blogs -wide awake too! Of course, when I should be tired and going to bed. Go figure, huh?
.-= Jeni Hill Ertmer´s last blog ..Bring It On! =-.
Hey, the good thing about getting to be our age is we can read at night & sleep during the day when we want! Glad to hear your holidays were good.
Happy Thanksgiving, friend. We did the big turkey meal . . . daughter and her 3 plus one (friend of oldest granddaughter) came bearing salad and rolls to go with the traditional fare. Then we watched UP! and enjoyed some together time.
I am thankful for all that – thankful for a safe trip to and from Anchorage yesterday for hubby’s dr. visit – thankful “what we both have” is controlled by meds – thankful that it has now been two years since my kidney cancer was discovered and nearly two years since the surgery – AND – am cancer free at this moment – thankful for online friends whom I dearly want to meet IRL someday – thankful that hubby is employed – thankful that I am employed – thankful to be called a daughter of the King – thankful for your lovely Christmas cactus (there are several here in bloom as well) thankful that I do not HAVE TO go shopping tomorrow – but thankful I might just pick up daughter and drag her to one of the sales (socks!) before it ends. (or maybe we will just have a coffe together – just we two).
And, now . . . my pillow awaits. Good night, Miss Shelly. Thanks for being here.
.-= barbara´s last blog ..Friday goodness =-.
I am thankful for YOU, my friend. I am glad that you had a wonderful time with your family and that you are cancer free. You are one of the most giving bloggers I have encountered. I’m not sure I will ever get to Alaska, but if I get north of Oklahoma, I’ll come to meet you
Labyrinth! I love that movie. In fact, just last weekend we got the kids all fired up to see it before we realized that we don’t have it on dvd – it was on one of the old videotapes we finally got rid of because we no longer own a working vcr.
.-= Robin from Israel´s last blog ..Building Facade, Tel Aviv 2009 =-.
Don’t you just hate losing the vcr? I had some fun movies on tape. Labyrinth was a movie I watched with m youngest when he was small. I’ve wanted to see it again for a long time.
I used to give my Mother a Christmas cactus every year. I’ve never seen one actually bloom at the right day or week. But they do look nice when you get a couple going at the same time.
.-= Laura´s last blog ..Writing in the Great Hereafter =-.
Maybe cacti celebrate Christmas at a different time?
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