Thankful

Thanksgiving is but a week away. I so often get caught up in celebrating the holiday that I forget the purpose of the holiday. This year, as we go around the table sharing what we are thankful for, I hope I can express my sincere gratitude. I pray my food gets cold when we say our prayer of thanksgiving, for I have so much for which to be thankful.

To make this a short story rather than a novel, I cut my list of people, places, things, and ideas for which I am thankful to people only. Yes, I am thankful for my home, my tiny house on wheels, and my bicycles. I live in a safe neighborhood in a free country with hundreds of state and national parks to visit. My pantry and refrigerator are full, and my relationships fill me with what matters most. I’m thankful for more than I could write in a 500-page loose-leaf notebook, but I will start with my parents . . . and their parents . . . and theirs. For without them, I would not be alive to write this list. 

Now that I think about it, though, without you, I may not have seen the need to even write a list. So, maybe I should say, I am most thankful for you. Or maybe my thanks should go to my third and fourth-grade teachers who inspired me to write. Or should I say my debt of gratitude is to my siblings, and my kindergarten, first and second-grade teachers, for they are the ones who instilled the love of reading in me? Now, I cannot forget the doctor who delivered me into this world. Should he get the biggest praise?  Or perhaps my thanks should go to . . .

Well, how about we have an understanding that I wrote this list in no particular order, no order of hierarchy, no order of importance? I am thankful for everyone on this list. So here goes. 

I am thankful for: 

• my siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends
• people who make me think, and those who challenge me to be better tomorrow 
• the friends and family members who allow me to park my tiny house in their driveways
• writers and podcasters who go before me
• the friends I have met while traveling 
• my friends and family members who review my rough drafts before they are presentable
• the guys who change my oil
• people who scan and bag my groceries
• former coworkers, teammates, and classmates
• the employees at Dollar General who always help me find impossible-to-find things
• neighbors who stay in touch even when I’m traveling
• bosses, business owners, entrepreneurs, and hard-working employees 
• my students, teachers, professors, coaches, and mentors
• upfront and behind-the-scenes staff
• mechanics, trash collectors, carpenters, bricklayers, and road construction workers
• writers, readers, editors, publishers and everyone else in the world of the written word
• chiropractors, dentists, therapists, doctors, nurses, and technicians
• scientists, plumbers, electricians, politicians, and lawyers
• white collars and blue collars who hold this country together
• farmers, military personnel, athletes, entertainers, firefighters, EMTs, and police officers
• Instagram and Facebook friends
• the people of Calhoun and Adairsville, Georgia, who have embraced me as one of their own
• and you who are reading this blog. I cannot express how much your support means to me.

Thank you for honoring me with your readership. I hope you, too, have much to be thankful for. May all of you be blessed with an abundance of cold food this Thanksgiving. 

I would love to hear who or what you are thankful for this year. Please share below.