A Tear Today, A Turkey
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“When I have food, help me to remember the hungry. When I have work, help me to remember the jobless. When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all. When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer. And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency, to stir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help by word and deed those who cry out for what we take for granted.” – A Thanksgiving prayer.
What am I thankful for? I thought I’d better sit down and figure this out so that I’m better prepared for the 238 people asking me on Facebook. The pressure was getting to me to shape up my pessimistic attitude lest I rain on everyone else’s turkey parade.I have a roof over my head. This is a good thing. I may not be able to afford to heat the place (seriously, we went all last winter without even cracking on the heater, thanks to the Smart Meter That Stole A Warm And Fuzzy Christmas, brought to you by Pacific Gas & Electric), but at least I have a loving husband, two furry funny felines, and a pile of blankets to keep me toasty.
While I worry about the long hours my husband spends trying to make a go of our business that we bought a few years ago, I am thankful that we have something to call our own. We are strong, sometimes unwontedly so, and this carries us forward when the road ahead looks bleak and tiring.
The family dinners – horrid as they have been in the past, perhaps my family is finally growing up. Still moody, still bitchy, but at least not as destructive as the shattered family photos have shown. Every year for at least a decade my dad gives the “I don’t even care if we have dinner!” rant, and it leaves me wondering why I do, year after year, but it’s because I know that deep inside it’s for my dad that I make the effort. Despite his complaints to the contrary, he wants us there. I do think, however, that I’m the only one who realizes that someday we won’t even have the bad holidays. I see that they’ll disappear someday, much like Santa’s sleigh at .
Mostly, I am thankful for the ever-changing carousel of friends. While some have left me with sadness and hurt between the last Thanksgiving and this one, others have remained steady and true. Today I am feeling a twinge, a slight crack in this old heart, but I’ll try to push it aside. Learning comes from each whom have crossed my path, inspiration comes from the unlikeliest of faces. There is no one I don’t share with, type to, wave at or hug that doesn’t leave an impression. Maybe I haven’t met you yet, but a meaningful experience isn’t always visible to the naked eye. These, I have found, to be the most valuable when later discovered.
I am thankful for the moments throughout the year when these things come to me. At in the middle of April, or on a hot July day, not just the fourth Thursday of every November.
If you are reading these words, I am thankful to you – no stranger is random. Your time is what I cherish. May peace find you, whether alone or lonely, with loved ones or missing them, at home or without one. May you be thankful for any little thing that brings you a tomorrow.
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