Monday was our Thanksgiving, and we celebrated much as I have most of my life, with a big family supper. Baked Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Turnips, Glazed Carrots, Cauliflower, and of course dessert… Apple, Pumpkin, and Peanut Butter Pies. Unfortunately holidays always make me miss my family even more than usual, but I did manage to talk to most of them, even singing our family Grace with mom & dad over the phone. Oh I sing it here but it just isn’t the same without Dad’s harmony.
I do like to give pause and be thankful on Thanksgiving, I know I have much to be thankful for in my life. In a world where madmen murder young children in their schools, and peoples war, kill, torture and abuse each other because of our slightest differences, and sometimes they are oh so slight and subtle, it is easy for me to realize how lucky I really am.
So, I’m thankful that I am in love with a truly special and wonderful woman, and that she loves me, and that we can celebrate our differences and work around the grating ones. I am blessed with a son, who shows no end to his capacity to love me, who is smart, and happy, and fun to be with. I’m grateful for the opportunity to read to him great books, like The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman, The Birdwatchers by Simon James, and The Cat in the Hat by… oh his name escapes me but I’ll think of it. I am grateful for an incredible daughter, who has again reminded me how wonderfilled life is, whose smile lights up my world when I walk into her’s, and whose cries, when I leave, leave little tears in my heart. Woe be to any madmen that would do them harm.
I am incredibly, incredibly fortunate to have the family that I do. A mother and a father who would do anything for me, support me, showered me with love and support and gave me the freedom to seek my own way in the world. A sister, who could very easily qualify for sainthood (well I’m not so sure about that miracle thing), and a brother who has incredible strength of character. My family is loving, and fun, and while there are times I’m sure that our house was built over some strange chemical dump, I know that I have the perfect family. I miss them all terribly.
I’m forever indebted to Janice, and our time together in this world, as short as it was. She is responsible for much of who I am today, and taught me what capacity I have for love.
There is so much more that I’m thankful for. I know that I live a life unequaled by much of the world. Health, comfort, family, security and experiences undreamed of when I was a young dreamer. I live in a remarkable place, with an ever present beauty just outside my door. I have friends all over the world, some of whom I’ve met through this very media.
And at this very moment, I’m thankful for the Ravens who daily come and visit me, and are now looking in on me, as I am looking out on them. They will keep me company this winter, when all the other birds have fled, and I’ll soar with them as they float around the House