Thanksgiving Thoughts
Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around people trot out the usual lists of things we are thankful for. Included in most lists are the inevitable, being thankful for health, thankful for family, thankful for not being poor, and many more shared gratitudes. At our dinner table, as at many dinner tables across the country, our family goes around the table and each person recites what they are thankful for. This year I’m taking another spin on the thankful ride and sharing some not as common things that make me appreciative. They may not be as universal as the aforementioned, but they brought me gratitude, so here goes.
I am thankful for that nice policeman who gave me a warning instead of a ticket when I made an illegal U-turn. I am thankful that the building being constructed across from me only had to use jackhammers a few times during the many months of construction. I am thankful that I finally found that missing checkbook. My heart filled with gratitude when oral surgery went so well that there was not one bit of pain when the drugs wore off. More thanks when the mechanic told me that all my car needed was a small adjustment to the transmission. I am thankful that my landlord has not raised my rent in five years. Thank you to that person who told me my purse was wide open when I walked around the fair this summer.
I am thankful that I have finally found good people to care for my disabled sister. I thank my lucky stars every day that I live where I can look out on Balboa Park and watch the world exercise. Thank you to the neighbor in my building who brings my paper up from the lobby and places it in front of my door. I never requested that, he just does it. I am thankful that the dark spot on my arm turned out to be just a barnacle not cancer. Barnacle is an ugly word, but cancer is even uglier.
I am thankful that after years of searching for the right activities after retirement, I have found them. I am thankful my children and grandchildren live close enough to see them often, and even more appreciative that the teenagers still want to see me. As a usually much too frugal person, I am thankful that my good sense told me to get rid of the uncomfortable sofa and buy a new comfy one, even though the old one still looked so good.
I am thankful that when someone cut me off on the freeway causing me to swerve suddenly, there were no cars in the lane I swerved into. I am thankful that I have reached an age where I no longer feel a need to wear high heels. As a person who lives alone, I am grateful for the many take-out places in my neighborhood. Cooking for one is tough.
I am so thankful that the period in my life when I was so stressed that my hair fell out is over, and all my hair grew back. I am grateful that I had both my parents for so long, my children did not. Traveling has always been an important part of my life. I am thankful I still have the stamina and means to keep finding new places to go. I am thankful this column gives me the opportunity to express myself.
And most importantly, I am so, so thankful and appreciative that someone invented stretchy fabric.
Happy Thanksgiving. Be grateful for the little things in life too.
Category: Life Style
