Happy Thanksgiving, Les. I am a fairly new reader, but your down to earth style makes me feel like you are an acquaintance.

Happy Turkey Day, Les!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  We will have a small celebration, just the spouse and kids, and no turkey (very expensive here in Austria).  This is a holiday I feel good about celebrating.

Happy Eat-The-Big-Dead-Bird Day! Oh, and I can’t wait to go shopping on Black Friday… saw MUCHO deals on items like RAM (PC2700 256 MB 333Mhz $24.95, good for me since one stick of said RAM burnt out...only on 256MB atm), Dual-Layer 16x DVD Burners ($29.99 after mail-in rebates!)...Doom 3 $29.99...Half Life 2 $29.99...and the list goes on and on.... -Goes digging around in a certain SEB’s Wishlist-

Here I am again already.  Since we probably celebrated Thanksgiving earlier than most of you, being about a quarter to a half revolution of the Earth later, and having celebrated at lunchtime, I just wanted to hand in the first holiday report.

It was a joyous and thoughtful celebration, although my fourteen year old daughter was not pleased with Brussels sprouts instead of turkey.  We sat for a few minutes thinking about all we had to be thankful for.  My thoughts went from the Pilgrims being fed by the Indians, to my luck at growing up in a wealthy and free country, to living now in a likewise wealthy and free country.

We often forget how lucky we are even to be alive- more than 90% of all living things have left no progeny, yet each and every one of us has an unbroken line of ancestors going back more than three billion years to the dawn of life.  That’s a lot of life, and care for children, and passing on the things that are important to know.  The energy and enormity and beauty of it is unfathomable.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an atheist or religious- being thankful cuts across all boundaries.  I too often get discouraged and angry, and forget how good it is to be alive.  Thanksgiving is a holiday that helps me remember.

*Standing O for zilch*

Hear, hear.  Well spoken.

Hear, hear, zilch!

Les, wishing you & Momma and your entire clan a happy and safe holiday!

This year, SEB is on my personal list of things for which I’m grateful.  I’ve needed any and every small bit of stress relief and/or distraction I could sneak in, and coming here has provided hours of entertainment and inspiration (not to mention the opportunity to vent now and again!).  Getting Momma’s email at work has given me a chance to laugh out loud for a few minutes during long days spent fighting the urge to tear my hear out of my head and run screaming from the building (after going Postal with a Super Soaker^™, that is).

We’re having Ham today since it’s just immediate family, and we’re not big turkey buffs anyhow. IMO the perfect turkey would be a ball of skin with legs, wrapped around a few pounds of bread & sausage stuffing! We’re saving the small ( and FREE with $75 worth of groceries!) bird for Saturday when 6 of the out-of-town, partying, heathen members of the family will visit. It works out fabulously, since it means I’ll have Friday to do all the big preparations.

There’s plenty to be thankful for, and it truly doesn’t matter who or what you’re offering your thanks to. It’s a boon to everyone’s mental health to focus on gratitude whenever possible - “food for the soul,” if you will.  Maybe the simple acknowledgement of how much we have helps us see how best to use it to help those who have not.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

OB- I second what you said about SEB.  Thanks for providing this space for us crazies, Les.