Happy Thanksgiving

(Thanks to those of you who read this blog. You inspire me to keep writing, especially on the days when I can only stare at the computer screen, thump my head on the keyboard and wonder why oh why I am so in love with words.)

Thanksgiving’s the day of the year when we’re asked to specifically count our blessings. In elementary school, we penciled our thanks on construction-paper turkey feathers, glued them to a construction-paper turkey body and displayed them on the bulletin board.
As teenagers, we were thankful we only had to endure our parents a few more years before we could get out and really start living.

As young adults, we were thankful we weren’t stuck-in-the-mud adults but then the reality of paying rent and taxes hit us square in the wallet.

As middle age arrived, we were thankful for Lipitor and IRA’s and painfully aware of all the new creaks and groans our knees were sending out.

As we basked in the golden years, we often became stereotypes of the “why don’t the kids call” senior citizen, and we still worried about paying the rent and taxes.

We're supposed to be thankful today, but let’s face it, there are times when it's hard to muster up gratitude. Few of us have job security; and when we hear about friends and neighbors getting laid off with little warning, we wonder if we’re going to be next.

Sniffles and coughs cause us to worry if our health care plan will see us through a serious illness. When we hear about expensive hospital stays, we realize we’re a bout with high blood pressure away from being one of those people others use as nightmare health-care examples.

Put those thoughts into park for a bit.

It’s easy to take the negative path because it’s the path of least resistance. Thinking positively when life is bleak is tough to do. But even for those of us experiencing tough times, there are snippets of hope in those dreary clouds.

Our freedoms. Those who come from countries where they’re not free to express their opinions understand what Americans take for granted. If we want to denounce the government and start our own political party, we’re free to do so.

The arts. Even if we can’t draw a straight line or carry a tune, paintings and music add depth and meaning to life. Think of all the times you’ve admired a gorgeous picture or painting or those days when you can’t stop humming your favorite song.

Instead of feeling guilty because you’re not overly joyful, let’s not let the day end without being thankful for just one blessing. Besides the true blessings of our families, friends and faith, here’s a list to get you started:

Blue Bell ice cream, escalators, Billie Holiday’s recording of “God Bless the Child,” Community Coffee, carousels, somebody letting us merge into traffic, the universal remote control, Claritin, free cell phone minutes, Frank Sinatra's recording of “It Was a Very Good Year,” cotton candy, microwave ovens, barbecue sandwiches and hot showers.

Chocolate in any way shape or form, blackberries right off the vine, bluebonnets in the spring, air conditioning, a doctor who listens, finding a perfect sea shell on the shore, home-made tamales, police officers, the railroad overpass on Highway 36, ball-point pens and costume jewelry.

Adult children who remember to call, cheap reading glasses, songbirds, front porches, baseball, firefighters, cheeseburgers, reading a bedtime story to a toddler, the classic movie “It’s a Wonderful Life," Andy McKee playing the acoustic guitar and pecan pie.

Spotting a streaking comet on a clear, cold night, memories of our grandparents, cornbread right out of the oven, boiled crawfish, walking through crisp, autumn leaves, a child's laugh, drying someone's tears and realizing life isn't perfect but, most of the time, it's pretty good.

I think I'll pop in my DVD of "It's a Wonderful Life, see if there’s any more pecan pie in the fridge, sit back and give thanks for the simple things. That's the way to end any day, especially Thanksgiving.

This article was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.