Thanksgiving 2022

It's a few days before Thanksgiving, and a good time to pause and consider all for which I am thankful.

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It's easy while living our comfortable lives to overlook the many blessings we have. So much of the world's population isn't nearly as fortunate.

This year has been a pretty good one for me. I got to travel again after getting fully vaccinated against the covid virus and after a year of reduced travel due to the pandemic. I had a fourth (and hopefully final) surgery to remove kidney stones. After one of my dogs -- the young one -- tripped me and I did a face plant on the dirt road that knocked loose the artificial lens in one eye -- I was able to get a new lens implanted by an amazing eye surgeon.

I traveled to Scotland to visit a friend in Edinburgh for a week, and a mutual friend from England joined us for a few days. I fulfilled a long-held dream of vising Greece and Namibia. My Scottish friend and I traveled to Alaska for more than 2 weeks, exploring much of that vast state. Another dream trip to Pompeii will wrap up the year's travels.

I am so grateful for the urologist who continues to monitor my kidney health and who performed my most recent kidney stone surgery.

I am grateful for my friend who continues to provide transportation home after surgery and after trips to the retina specialist when my. eyes are dilated.

I am thankful for my retina specialist, who is a skilled and kind man, and I am so grateful to have him in my corner.  And I am extremely thankful that my eyes are still good enough to allow me to follow my passion of wildlife and landscape photography. I also am grateful for the ophthalmologist who completed a lengthy and complex surgery to replace the lens in one eye. I am so fortunate that after a face-down fall that knocked me unconscious for a few seconds (thanks to an exuberant puppy) didn't cause any more serious damage.

I am grateful for my good health and for being able to walk 4 miles every day. When so many my age face serious and debilitating health problems, I am still active and healthy. I don't need a walker or a cane, and I don't need supplemental oxygen as do so many. My aging body can't do all the things it used to do, but I am so grateful that I can continue to live independently and retain my mobility. As I get older and a variety of aches and pains (osteoarthritis and bursitis) afflict me, I am so appreciative that these are the only afflictions that bother me.

I am thankful that my daughter is doing well as a new mother, and that her baby son is healthy and happy.

I am grateful that my sister visited me in New Mexico. I also am grateful that my daughter and grandson came to visit for my birthday this year.

As the weather turns cold, I am grateful for my wonderful, warm house with its beautiful views of the mountains. I am grateful for my two dogs that keep me on my toes every day and love me beyond words.  

Unlike so many, I have more than enough to eat, I have warm clothes, a reliable car and good health insurance. I have money to cover any emergencies that pop up. This more than most is very difficult due to the high price of groceries, fuel and just about everything else.

And I am grateful that I have both the means and the desire to help feed those in need through World Central Kitchen, Roadrunner Food Bank and Meals on Wheels.

I am grateful to live in a free country where people are allowed to vote without fear of repercussions, although the recent spate of laws designed to suppress the vote of millions of people concerns me greatly. I value our ability to peacefully protest. I am grateful for the members of our military who keep us safe and free, and for the first responders who daily risk their lives in service to others. I am particularly grateful for the nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians and other medical staff who care for us.

I will prepare a sort of Thanksgiving meal this year for the first time in a few years. I have bought a turkey, (at a price I couldn't refuse), and although I will dine alone, I will enjoy a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal. I won't make mashed potatoes or have dessert or cranberries, but the essence of the meal will be there.  And the reason for the meal will be present.

I am grateful for the fierce determination and sacrifices of the people of Ukraine who continue to fight against the invading Russians.

I will spend a quiet day at home, knowing I have plenty to eat and thinking about the many blessings in my life. Because in the end, regardless of our troubles, we in this country still do have much for which to be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. And remember, Thanksgiving shouldn't be merely a day that comes once a year. We should be thankful for our bounty every day.