Thanksgiving 2025

 Today is Thanksgiving, and a good time to pause and consider all for which I am thankful.

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This year, like most, has been a mixed bag of good and bad. I got to visit the beautiful countries of Switzerland and western Canada. I am looking forward to next year's travels, including a trip to Kenya with two friends from the UK..

I am grateful for my friend who continues to provide transportation home after surgery and after trips to the retina specialist who monitors my vision. She is bringing a couple of items for my Thanksgiving dinner. And her neighbor, who loves to bake, is sending me a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls.. 

I am thankful for the retired physician I sat next to on a flight from Calgary to Salt Lake City, who encouraged me to talk to my primary medical provider about starting a medication to bring my glucose level down.

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.

I am thankful that my daughter got engaged this year to a wonderful man. After so many jerks in her life, including the father of her 4-year-old son, it's nice to see her happy and in a good relationship.

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. I am grateful to have adopted a senior dog so he can live his life in comfort.

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.

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 and executive orders 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 all those who are fighting back against our unhinged, despotic president and his cult followers. I am gratedul for those who are standing up against his constant illegal and unconstitutional actions.

I will prepare a Thanksgiving meal this year for the first time in a few years. I have bought a smoked turkey, and although I will dine alone, I will enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I won't have sweet potatoes or cranberries, neither of which I like. But the essence of the meal will be there.  My daugher and her fiance have decided to prepare sloppy joes and deviled eggs, with a homemade cobbler for desert. It isn't the food that matters, but the gathering with loved ones.

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.