What are you thankful for?

Thanksgiving is a special time of year and its true meaning is often overlooked. The Pilgrims and the Indians planned the first Thanksgiving as a "let's be friends, eat and enjoy each other's diversity" and as a way of saying "thank you" for everyone and everything they had been blessed with.

The overlooking of this holiday can be blamed on the commercialism that the retail chains have created. Thanksgiving, which is neatly stuffed, (just like the bread and herbs that tastes so good after being cooked in the cavity of the oven-roasted turkey) between two mega-holidays, somehow loses its purpose.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for all we have (perhaps in preparation of Christmas; Santa doesn't bring gifts to those who are not thankful, after all!)

What are you thankful for?

Here is my list:

* I am thankful for a little corner of the blanket on a cold night after my husband rolls over and assumes to be a caterpillar in a cocoon. (Don't let him tell you that I am the one that steals the covers...)

* I am thankful for the conclusion of any sporting event or school event that requires sitting on those hard bleachers - that comes from the BOTTOM of my heart. I'm always ready for the next event, however.

* I am thankful for my sister who is 10 years older. She will ALWAYS be older than me (that is what I am most thankful for!) We used to joke about our two wonderful great-aunts - sisters, one in her 90s one in her late 80s when they passed away - that lived in the same town but lived separately. They loved each other dearly but could never have spent more than a few hours together. The younger one razed the older one about this and that (which I'll do to my older sister when I am good and ready. I can't wait!) We always laughed about them and agreed we'd probably be just like them someday!

* I am thankful for my cats - though my husband sees no point of having animals on the farm if there is no purpose for them. (And I don't care if they haven't done their job of mousing all that well. Jumping in the air when I see a mouse in the house, after all, gives me some exercise!)

* I am thankful for weekends. (Who isn't?!) It is not too often that I find myself with nothing to do - either work related or kid related, but it is so nice to sleep in an extra few minutes.

* I am thankful for kisses - Hershey kisses, too. (Especially on stressful days.)

* I am thankful that my kids have grown up as they have, with a great sense of humor and respect for others, and for my husband even on those days that I wonder for a few moments whether the world would be better off with no men at all in it!

I have given you a list of thankful things that hopefully have made you chuckle a little but truthfully, there are so many serious things to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my family, for having a job, my country and all it stands for, my church and my God. I hope you take time to think of all the things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Write them down. Remember, Santa is coming soon!