Thankful for Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again. No longer crisp and sunny autumn days, but not yet bitter and snowy winter. The calm before the storm of Christmas (though if you've been in a store or have watched much TV, it's been the Christmas season for at least a month). I've talked before about how Thanksgiving gets shortchanged, sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas. I almost feel obligated to promote it as a holiday. Now, I'm not quite ready to say that it's my favorite holiday, but there are a lot of reasons to be thankful for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is not centered around alcohol. The purpose of the day isn't to drink early and often.

Thanksgiving does not require a "date." You aren't expected to have a partner for an appropriate celebration.

Thanksgiving is not a portrait in excess. Yes, many people overindulge at their dinner table. But it's not weeks of candy or hors d'oeuvres or desserts.

Thanksgiving is not loud. There aren't booms and pops into the wee hours of the morning. There aren't lots of people crammed into small spaces.

Thanksgiving is not about "getting." It's not about who has the most or the best or the biggest.

Thanksgiving is not a "season." It may extend into a long weekend, but it's really just one day. Decorations are modest. Gifts are not expected. Radio and TV programming isn't radically altered. Grocery store ads may have little turkeys in them, but we are not bombarded with things we must buy in order to have the perfect holiday.

Thanksgiving does not have to stir up the religious vs. secular debate. Now, don't get your feathers ruffled. It certainly has Christian origins. After all...to whom were the Pilgrims giving thanks? But it isn't biblical like a traditional Christmas or Easter. You can be thankful for what you have and appreciate what the country's earliest immigrants accomplished regardless of your individual beliefs.

So what is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is very personal. There are lots of "right" ways to celebrate. Your day may revolve around football, deer hunting, a turkey feast, serving others, shopping at the big sales, a parade, or a church service. Be thankful for the opportunity to participate in any of them. You may be surrounded by family or friends or strangers, being thankful for all that you have. Or, you may take a moment alone and simply be thankful that the sun rose again today. It's really just a grateful state of mind.

Everyone has their own way of celebrating--or not celebrating--a holiday. Thanksgiving Day doesn't ask much of us. We all can be thankful for having this one day. Everything else we do or have is a bonus.

I wish you a Thanksgiving that's just right for you. Thank you for reading.

Downsized again

Seems like it was only a year and a half ago that I was looking for a job after my proofreading position was eliminated. Can you say "deja vu"? The market research firm I was working for since March eliminated my position yesterday. So once again, I am on a quest to find gainful employment.

I spent 12 years at the hotel and 11 years at the ad agency. After a year of searching, I entered the world of market research. That lasted a whopping eight months. I understand that many people change jobs for a number of reasons on a more frequent basis. I'm just not used to that. I much prefer staying at a job until I've mastered it.

Now comes the task of once again examining my skills and talents and trying to match them up with positions and employers. I fully believe I can be trained to do almost anything. It's just a matter of finding an environment where I can be most successful.

At least it gave me a topic for this short blog entry...

Welcome back to me!

I'm supposed to be balancing the checkbook (or the electronic equivalent thereof). But I've let it go too long and it's not going to be fun trying to match up the debit transactions for which I don't have receipts. And I simply refuse to just take the bank's word for what our balance is. I guess I like to feel like I have some control over our money.

Or, I should be thinking about heading up to bed. A good night's sleep is important, after all!

Or, I could just keep playing "Bejeweled" for awhile. That game is addictive for me! Just one more game...

But, I did promise to write again soon. So let's see if there's anything on my mind.

I should at least mention how very proud I am of my son. I try to not write or post or tweet much about him in too much detail. He's old enough to talk about his own activities if he so chooses. Otherwise, I try to respect his privacy. (He does not have a Facebook account...by his own choice. I tell him what the family is up to, and he texts his friends, so it's not like he's a hermit. He just doesn't feel drawn to it, and I'm proud of his choice.)

But I can't just ignore his recent involvement in the school musical. He was in the pit orchestra, as he was last year. There were lots of after-school rehearsals, and two on the weekend before opening night. That makes for some long days, to be sure. He gets tired, but it's what some might call a "good" tired. It's the adrenaline rush of successfully getting through a particularly tough song. It's doing something he enjoys and that's appreciated. It's being part of a team that must work together to produce a fabulous result. This was something he chose to do on his own. I'm sure his teacher encouraged him to participate. But I don't think I ever said, "You should be in pit. It will look good on college applications." Or, "Join pit. That will make sure you practice your instrument more." He wanted to do it. The talent displayed by everyone involved was impressive. (Were we that good at stuff in high school?) I positively beam when I see him playing and he's in his performance zone. He works at it, he enjoys it, and he's pretty darn good at it. It's one of those moments where I have to accept the fact that my "baby" is growing into his own unique individual.

As for me, I haven't been up to much of anything out of the ordinary lately. Well, I've been running to school to pick up my son from rehearsal. And I've been making things for the bake sale. (Burned my finger pretty good last week. The kitchen just isn't where I was meant to be!)

I did miss the second annual girlfriends' trip. Last year, the three of us went up to the condo of the parents of one of my friends. Two beautiful days of laziness, chattiness, shopping, wine, and just all-around quality time with the girls. It just wasn't practical for me to go this year. So...they went without me! Actually, I am glad they did. They deserve the time away, too, and I would have felt terrible if they cancelled just because of me. With the magic of text messages and Skype, I spent some virtual time on the trip. I heard all about their adventures. Jealous? A little. But I was honored to be included by the means available to us. They bought me a gift since I wasn't there to buy my own kitschy stuff. And, they bought me a souvenir. I can't tell you what it is, because that would ruin some of its charm (and you might think we are all cuckoo). But we now each have one of these items. Our girl-power has been multiplied. We just might be unstoppable if we join forces. Don't worry--we promise to only use our powers for good. (Note: I see that in my last post I already named what they brought for me. But I'm not going to describe how fabulous it is! You'll just have to use your imagination.)

Let me check my last post to see what I'd contemplated discussing here. Hmmm... There's a new celebrity court case. Not worth discussing, really, much like most of the other celebrity court cases. For me, 11/11/11 passed without incident, neither wondrous nor terrible. We didn't get much snow last week. Enough to remind us that winter is not far off, but not enough to get worked up about. Andy Rooney? I enjoyed his spots when I happened to catch him on TV. May he and his eyebrows rest in peace.

So life goes on for me regardless of the date or of the weather. As a mom and as one of the girls. And sometimes...as a blogger.

Where Have I Been?

I certainly haven't been blogging lately, that's for sure. Busy, busy, that's me.

So what to write about next time...the passing of Andy Rooney? Celebrity court cases? The pride I have in my son's school activities? My thoughts on the date 11/11/11 (Do I have any particular thoughts on the date 11/11/11?). The girlfriends trip I had to miss (but still got my very own princess wand)? The snow that's forecast...BEFORE Thanksgiving?

So many thoughts, so little time...

Rest assured: I shall return.