Giving thanks for the little things that add up to a whole lot

            Since 1997, I've occupied this space every Thursday and that includes 17 Thanksgiving holidays. I've written sentimental columns about giving thanks for families, friends and good health, and these blessings remain at the top of my gratitude list.

            The columns I've enjoyed writing the most were the ones where I've given thanks for the little things in life. And because I'm eternally grateful for the every-day things we often overlook, here we go again.

            I'm going to start with my car because I'm a true Texan who'd be lost without a vehicle. With temperatures in the 90s nine months out of the year, I'm grateful for my car's hard-working air conditioner.

            And for the other three months, I'm grateful for power windows so I can enjoy the cooler temperatures as I wait at the never-ending red light at Highway 36 and Highway 90A.

            Occasionally I'm thankful for the teenager that blasts horrific rap music out of their tricked-out car. Those wretched lyrics are a reminder that I was lucky to grow up with true poets as song writers. Billy Joel, Carole King and John Lennon wrote lyrics that still makes baby boomers smile and cry.

            I'm grateful I wore giant bell-bottoms, puke-green neon-colored shirts and earth shoes with cut-out tires for soles. When my sons accused me of not understanding what it means to try and fit in with the latest, crazy fashion craze, I could reassure them in all honesty, "Oh yes I can."

            I'm thankful I like to sing. I'm no opera star nor would I ever win a karaoke contest, but singing at the top of my lungs to a favorite song is a definite soul enhancer.

            Occasionally I believe I'm right on the money until I turn the radio down and actually listen to myself sing.

            Ouch.

            But the experience makes me feel like Barbra Streisand on the bridge of that boat in "Funny Girl" even though I'm a middle-aged woman in the front seat of a four-door sedan.

            I'm fortunate I knew the love of three of my four grandparents and very lucky I came to know my parents through the eyes of a child and the understanding of an adult. To know them from both perspectives is an irreplaceable gift.

            I'm thankful I'm nosy. When I was young, I'd sneak into the kitchen after Sunday dinner and eavesdrop on my aunts' gossip session. I had no idea exactly what all those words meant, but I understood enough to know it was taboo.

            Decades later, I'm still nosy but now this newspaper pays me to snoop.

            Taking the less-traveled road. The quickest way home in the afternoons is on the freeway to another busy street to a highway. Lately, I've veered onto a side route that takes a bit longer but carries me down winding roads past open now-dormant cotton fields.

            Twice I've been rewarded with gorgeous sunsets, and I was lucky enough to have my camera nearby to capture those views for all time.

            I pulled over on the side of the road and marveled at nature's canvas. Then silently, I gave thanks for the divine hand that swirled the clouds and retreating sunlight and created those brilliant reds, oranges and yellows for tired travelers looking to refill their spirits.

            So this Thanksgiving, as always, I'll say thank you for that which we often take for granted but thank the Lord for each night:  our friends, our family, our health and the little things in life, like a sunset at the end of the day.

            There is beauty in each and every one of those.

            Happy Thanksgiving!

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.