Giving Thanks

For dessert, we all went to our friend’s, to introduce our cat-loving son and daughter-in-law to Moonshine and Missy Prissy, our friend’s cats. Introductions went well.

To celebrate our recent Thanksgiving, my wife and I had a dear friend over, as well as our son and his wife. We chatted, had some snacks, drank some wine, and then ate the traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Then the just-mentioned dessert.

The day went as planned, with everybody enjoying all of it. The day is its own cause, but the quiet mingling of the people in our house added energy to my reflection: how much do I have to be thankful for?

As I see it, items to be thankful for share two attributes: something that allows me to either enjoy life or get more out of it; something that I cannot realistically take credit for having.

Many of these things leap to mind, and I list some of them in no particular order:

My work ethic: this was given to me by my parents and reinforced by those I associated with in the obtaining of my education. My ability to learn: I can, perhaps, take credit for what I’ve learned, but my ability to learn is not something I can take credit for. Being born in the United States … along with all the other circumstances of my birth ( the skills and abilities of my parents, the financial situation they were in, the state and city of my birth, the notions about school and learning that my parents had, the “culture” that defined my extended family, … ; ). My wife ( meeting her was something that was entirely beyond my control ) and our family My faith: this is, by definition, my belief in the existence of God and trust that he will envelope me with his loving care as he promises he will … always, everywhere. After being laid off from a good-paying Engineering job, being able to live for five years on a significantly reduced income without incessant worrying about money, even though I was almost incessantly worrying about it while having that good-paying Engineering job. The people in our lives, past and present. My health and that of my wife and our immediate family. The people I’ve had the opportunity to hear speak and the authors I’ve chosen to read.

What do you have to be thankful for?