It's okay to be thankful for little things

Finally the Strep has subsided. Life is good. I can drink water (and Diet Coke and coffee) with a vengeance. I did drink my fill of the perfect-temperature water...but 24 ounces was a bit of a lofty goal. Suffice it to say my thirst is quenched.

Thanksgiving. Tomorrow. Alex and Mickey keep asking Pete and I what we're thankful for and I keep wondering what a good one-word answer would be meaningful to them but not too deep. So the last time I said "Amoxycillin."

And of course this year, and probably for years to come, I'll remember that it's the anniversary of Pete's hospital stay with a pulmonary embolism. Thinking about that situation still makes me shudder just a little. Since then we've had some what-if conversations that are very uncomfortable but necessary and I've also read and heard others' stories who turned out tragic instead of miraculous. And I'm thankful for his recovery all over again.

Then every year I also think about my dear friend from school...who rode home with my sis and from college the day before Thanksgiving circa 1985. I remember how excited she was about going home for the holiday. So much so that she had this weird chant that she repeated over and over...a simple but effective "It's Thanksgiving!" For some reason it has stuck in my mind all these years and my sis and I still utter it from time-to-time and laugh all over again. I'm thankful for such a fond memory!


And the last memory that surfaces every year at this time is from way back, when our family still struggled financially. When I was in elementary school, I remember during the days leading up to Thanksgiving there was an effort to collect money for a needy family in our school. Our teacher passed around a large manila envelope and all the kids would drop in whatever coins they had. Then the teacher would tuck it inside her desk until the next day...up until Thanksgiving.

When school broke for the holiday, I remember seeing that same envelope on my mom's desk at our home.

I remember thinking...what's that doing here, we're not starving! Surely there are families who need this more than us. Thing is, I know we probably DID need that envelope that year. I'm thankful people cared about our family.

So those are the things I think about every year at Thanksgiving. Some insignificant, some monumental...all of them part of my life.

Happy Thanksgiving, ya'll...here's to the big and little things in your lives.