I really do not want to dwell on the past year’s historic mindblowing state of affairs, nor do I want to dwell on the personal bombshells that have hit our family. So, I won’t.

Thanksgiving is about being thankful – grateful for what we do have.

I have family. For this, I am most grateful. My husband, my son, my grandson, my uncle and aunt, my cousins – and my family in-laws, present and past, who are extremely wonderful and gracious to me. For this is a beautiful thing and family is one gift of being human – especially if family relationships are good.

I have relative health compared to some. OK, aging does mean that you are still here on the planet, but it poses challenges as parts are wearing out on you, or becoming defective, you have to deal with it. So, I can’t go on that run today, as I normally do – but, I am not bedridden, I can walk without assistance, I can climb stairs, and probably, if I went out right now and got on it, I could ride my bicycle. Injuries are hopefully temporary.

I made 2 pies and one dessert, yesterday, with an aging oven. It was a challenge, but guess what? We have pies and a dessert. I hope that they are tasty.

I did the baking without copious amounts of wine as I had to rely upon last year during our unfolding family crises. It got worse before it began to stabilize. I was proud that I did Christmas and steeled up in the storm, with all of the uncertainty. I am certain that this took it’s toll on my mental health and potentially, on my physical health.

This year, I am grateful that things began to stabilize, last spring, but we are not ever going to be back where we were. Forever changed by one person, never anticipated, it is how life is to have these unexpected turns.

Turkey and trimmings. Friends. Fellowship. The good weather we are now having after the crazy weather we suffered at the turn of the seasons… Knowing that holidays are difficult for some large number of people this year due to that crazy weather, we pray for their recoveries – each of them. We pray for the state of the world, as it is in peril right now. We pray for stability. We pray for healing. We pray for the lonely and those who are alone today. We pray for hope. We pray for a future for my grandson that will not prove difficult for him to live a good life.