Many Thanks

Thanksgiving snuck up on me this year. Last week, I asked my boss, “Is it really Thanksgiving next week.”

“Yep,” she replied.

Between death and travel and more death and apartment-repair nightmares and friends in the hospital, the last several months have run together into a blur. Not to mention cash flow problems caused by all of the aforementioned issues. We’ve managed to compress an entire year’s worth of problems into a few short months.

Still, I’m thankful. I’m still alive and human enough to be moved by other peoples’ pain, as well as recognize and embrace my own. We had the resources to pay for all the extra expenses we’ve had. My mother and I are closer than we ever have been.

Sometimes, I look back on the year and start to get depressed.

But then, if I’m honest, I’ve had the good with the bad.

Yes, I mourn Daddy’s death, but then I remember that I had the privilege of knowing him for 42 years. And, yes, the repairs on our apartment have been a nightmare. But many people would love to be able to complain about that, because all they have to repair is a cardboard box. And certainly not one in a nice neighborhood.

And I have a good job. It’ll be eight years November 30.

With all the chaos of this year, I have constants to sustain me: a committed partner, a job I like and a roof over my head. And then there’s faith.

It’s been a bad year in some ways, but in others it’s made me a stronger person who’s more committed to and secure in my priorities.

So now to my current priority--the menu:

Roast turkey
Giblet gravy
Mama’s cornbread dressing with sage (fresh, of course)
Honey-glazed carrots with tarragon
Green beans sautéed in olive oil and garlic
Mashed potatoes with garlic and dill
Fruit salad with holiday spices

Plus a special vegetarian version of the above (no turkey, of course—they aren’t veggies) for John, who’s still in the hospital.

Eat, drink and be merry, all ye (3 people) who read this.

We intend to do the same.

Gobble-gobble