Over the river and through the woods....

To Grandmother's house we go!

Lucky for me, I live with the reigning grandmother in my family so I didn't have to cross any rivers or go through any woods. Not that there are any woods in this major metropolitan area I call home. There is a river. Anyway...

It's Thanksgiviing, in case you've been living in a cave that just this moment became wired for Internet access. It's the time of year when we stop for a minute to think on those things for which we're thankful. After which we consume massive amounts of poultry and refined carbohydrates. Yum!

A couple of years ago, our circle widened to temporarily include a handful of young people who joined us for dinner. My son, who was then twenty-two, was explaining to them our annual ritual. "We stand in a circle and hold hands, then everyone has to say what they're thankful for."

"On, no," one of the young people said. "We won't do that."

"Oh, yes," my Boy insisted. "You HAVE to."

It's always good for a parent to discover that those little rituals we hold sacred actually stuck when we threw them at the younger generation.

So here are a few things for which I'm thankful. I won't list the obvious. Family, health, loved ones. Everybody has those. No, these are the little things that give me pleasure with some regularity:

A local radio station that plays classical music
More books than I'll ever have time to read
Flowers blooming outside my window
A really fast car and (so far) money to gas it up
My driveway to Walt Disney World - one hour
Fresh oranges almost falling in my lap
Every day, whether I have a chance to write or not, the words never stop filling my mind.

I hope everyone takes a moment to think about the little things today.

Happy Thanksgiving

Susan