Think About What You Are Thankful For

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I made myself sit down and think about what I am thankful for.  I venture to say that not many of us do that often enough.

Number one, and I would never have believed that I would ever think about such taken-for-granted things, I am so, so thankful that I still have my vision and my hearing is still excellent.  Life would be very, very different if I were not able to read.  And I don't know how people know when to take their car to the mechanic if they can't hear that high-pitched squeal when they turn left.

 I am grateful that, thanks to my wonderful husband, terrific friends, and children I am happy to say are mine, I have been able to travel the world and learn that there are many paths to the same destination.  There are lots of ways to live and to manage a society; lots of ways of worshipping whichever god or gods you choose; lots of ways of organizing families.  Without travel, one must assume that everybody does things the way you do, which leads you to think that your way is the only way.

I am grateful for the game of basketball.  When my son was in 5th grade in a little two-room schoolhouse in Montana, he was given an amazing gift by two young ranchers in our community.  They organized a basketball team of little boys and taught them well.  That was the beginning of a life-long love of the game for both of us.  We have always been close, but in March, we talk a dozen times a day.  He could have done worse than have Dean Smith as a role model.

I am grateful for the great state of Montana.

I am grateful to the guy who opened the gym a couple of miles from my house so that I can exercise at an affordable price.

I am grateful that I was born in December, because when all my friends in the neighborhood started school without me, my mother sent me to dance school so that I didn't feel left out.  Ballet became my passion, and something I excelled at.  It gave me self-knowledge, it challenged me to work harder than I ever imagined I could, it made me feel beautiful and strong, it taught me an appreciation of great music, and I can still show my granddaughters a thing or two.

I am thankful that, when my husband was in college, we were pretty short on money.  Had we not been, I probably would not have taught myself to sew.  Now that sewing has become a "craft" rather than a necessary skill of a wife and mother, I am so happy when I can totally remake my kitchen by making new curtains, or spruce up the living room by recovering a few pillows.  Now, my darling youngest granddaughter has become interested in sewing, so maybe she will carry on the tradition.

Of course, that's not a complete list, but thinking about gratefulness brought some new thoughts.  Maybe I should try it on a regular basis!