I am not a big Thanksgiving celebrator. We don't have family in this country so have never traveled to gather, though when I was a kid we took in all the graduate students from my dad's university department that had nowhere to go. And I have issues celebrating holiday based on a falsified history. And this year, well, we all know that this year is different.
There will be four of us (my mom and dad, me, and my daughter) in our house this year, a first in a long time since my daughter's college sent them home already. But, mom and dad are getting a Thanksgiving take out from their favorite restaurant and my daughter and I (vegetarians) are making a Moroccan couscous with vegetables dish. And, we're eating separately because, since my daughter just traveled last Friday, we're isolating form one another. We got Covid tests today, but won't have results until the weekend.
All that aside, this is a time of year that I turn inward and take time to be thankful and grateful for the people and things that I have in my life.
- Family. Though only four of us are together this year and the rest of my family is thousands of miles away in the UK and Austria, I am thankful for all of them. I appreciate that I share a home with my parents and daughter, that we all get along and are fortunate to be together when so many others cannot be.
- Health. My mother's surgery went well last Thursday and she came home today (Tuesday). I am working out and eating better, am down 40 pounds, and feel good. Again, we are fortunate to live in a town with excellent health care facilities and medical professionals at all levels.
- Work. Yes, work. Even though it's frustrating and tiring, especially during a pandemic, I appreciate that I have a job I like with benefits and decent pay that I can do from home during this crazy time.
- Friends. I appreciate my friends that live here in town as well as those that are farther away in this country and abroad.
- Santa Barbara. Yes, my town. We live nestled between the ocean and the mountains, and have fantastic weather almost all year round. What more could I ask for.
- Streaming. What would I do without streaming (probably read more). I appreciate the fantastic shows that help me escape from reality.
- Books and the blogging community. I appreciate that I have a fantastic local indie bookshop, that I can afford to buy the books I want, that I can read, and that I can share all of that with others who love books and reading and sharing as much as I do. So, I leave you with a photo from ten (!) years ago when I was only a year into this blogging gig. A few bloggers came to Santa Barbara for lunch. Do you recognize yourself or others?
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