2019's Top 19 Reasons to be Thankful

Even though there is snow on the ground, and the magnificent five-story pine across the golf course is naturally flocked, next week is Thanksgiving, not Christmas. 

Since nobody reads the President's Thanksgiving Proclamation*, here are my top nineteen reasons to be thankful in 2019.


1.  We're well. 

Liam "seeks" Willow who thinks she is hidden.

2.  Willow, 2, is talks and makes us laugh. 

3.  Bo, 6, can read well for a first-grader, and his vision is not currently deteriorating.

4.  Sam, 15, has turned into a wonderful cook. He recently grilled delectable  moist chicken and performed magic with cherry tomatoes. He's also an interesting dinner companion.

5.  Liam, 11, has a knack for writing. The fifth-grade class is participating in NaNoWriMo, a month of writing a novel in one month. 

6.  Keeler, 13, is a math whiz, and we're not worried he will get into any kind of trouble until he tries to learn to drive.

7. Em, 12 going on 14, is tall, lovely, responsible. We've nicknamed her Em-I-A, as in Em missing in action. We hope she'll take a break from her social life soon so we can talk to her, preferably before the end of the year. 

8. This condo is FLOODED with morning light. Bill needs to wear a baseball cap to keep the sun out of his eyes. 

9.  The kitchen counters are installed, three months after being ordered. (And I am thankful that I stayed patient--until two weeks ago.)

10. I'm finding solid, encouraging relationships at our merged church.

11.  I have a fiddling friend. We practice Christmas carols and twin fiddle tunes.

12. Bill and I took three road trips this year (all involved bluegrass music): Dallas,Westcliffe, Colorado, and North Carolina.


13. In October I rejoined the bluegrass jam I used to attend in Mt. Airy. I've improved since my last time with them. Now I can play chords, thanks to my weekly as yet-to-be-named geezer group of musicians. 

14. We have been blessed with generous friends.
         One installed the new cabinets for us. 
         Another couple let us stay in their river house for a week this fall,

Dan River, Kibler Valley, Va.

now our favorite place since we sold Newsong Cottage. 
             Others hosted us during the trip east.

 15.  Bill and I shared a delicious dinner at Harvest Table, Barbara Kingsolver's restaurant in Meadowview, Va. It was on my must-do list. I wish it was down the street from our condo.

16.  I turned an emotional corner, and accept that I will probably live in Colorado the rest of my life. I continue to look back over my shoulder to all I left behind, but acceptance is better than anger. 

17.  Bill and I continue to compensate for each other's crumbling mental acuity, and laugh about it. For example, thawed soup was actually spaghetti sauce which we didn't realize until we put it in the bowls. Had to cook some pasta.

18.  Last night my local book club chuckled over Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin'. Even those of us who did not attend Catholic schools laughed at the familiar kid-antics and power struggles. 
      It's the funniest Nativity play since The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
      ( I'm sending a copy to both Dobson book clubs. Pass it around.) 

19. We will spend Thanksgiving with a family from Iraq.  I am thankful they don't still live in Baghdad.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. 





*  Except for Christian Science churches which read the President's Proclamation at their Thanksgiving Services.