It’s the day before Thanksgiving in the US. My Turkey Day celebrations this year will consist of DH and me, no guests. The one year I want to have a huge Thanksgiving dinner and invite the entire world, just to annoy everyone who thinks we shouldn’t have a big gathering, and it’ll be just the two of us. Go figure.
But I’m reassured by the crowded stores I’ve seen lately; it looks like everybody else in the area is planning the usual celebrations. Good job, social people! Wash your hands, don’t lick each other, and eat some turkey.
DH loves to plan holiday meals, with massive quantities of food- far more than the two of us could eat. Wonder where he gets that from? In any case, we’re sure to have lots of leftovers, even after I talked him down to a slightly truncated menu. Ham, turkey breast, salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a mince pie with vanilla ice cream is a very scant dinner in these parts. I’ve tried to explain to him that, if he wanted to make gigantic family dinners, he should have married a younger model and had a passel of kids. Alas, he’s stuck with me, and all this food.
I’m tired of 2020, and I’d be overjoyed to see it go, if there was any guarantee that 2021 would be any better. Since there’s no way to guarantee that, I’m doing my best to find the good in 2020, while it lasts. And I have a few things to be thankful for. My DH, of course. I’m very glad he hangs around me; life is hard, but having a friend makes it a little easier. We’re in our own place, and though not rich, we’re not doing badly. I have a horse of my own, and a cat who tolerates me. My family is mostly healthy and sane, and my friends are their usual wacky selves. I’m still alive and in reasonable health, despite the universe’s best attempts to kill me. And I live in the best country in the world. All good reasons to be thankful today, tomorrow, and all other days.
So, let’s have a nice, positive thread- tell me what you’re thankful for, and/or what you’ve accomplished so far this year.
Mad Genius Club 
I’m thankful for you two dunderheads, and the two dunderheads with whom I’m celebrating thanksgiving today. I’m thankful for Havey even if it’s very difficult to write with his “PET ME NOWWWWW” demands. I’m thankful for enough food (okay too much, blah) and I’m VERY thankful that my IP reverted, so I can bring it out within the next month in new editions.
I’m thankful for friends and relatives.
I’m NOT thankful for the insanity of this year, but I’m still surviving, so why complain?
You got your IP reverted. Wow! That’s good news right? Great news even? I would love to hear how that happened, but understand you might not be able to say. Happy Thanksgiving.
Yes, it is.
I just got it all back, in a letter. i hadn’t asked for it in months, as I was trying to find an IP lawyer.
I’m thankful for being here, now, in this time. My family are all healthy. The house is fixed *taps wood*. I have a job that fits my calling, and my writing job that also fits my calling. I’m thankful and a little intimidated that people lean on my stories to help them in hard times. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to pay for all the glasses, prescriptions, and such that I need.
I’ve gotten eight books out the door this year. Nine if you count the last Shikari book. I’ve lost almost 10 pounds since March, and feel better about my clothes fitting. The next two Familiars books are in progress, one just passed 40K words, and part of O-Familiar hit me this AM. I know how to move ahead with the next Merchant book, and I have other ideas simmering, including the novel I worked on here at MGC.
What a nice blog post. I’m thankful for so much, including a new job that is making things less tight around here. I’m thrilled I finished up my epic fantasy series this year and also managed to get a novelette and a short story completed. There’s another novella/novelette in the works. I’ve learned all kinds of new things that help with writing and doing art. Everyone in my household (cats included) is still hanging in there without much in the way of medical issues. I have good friends and kinds neighbors.
I’m thankful for my family, husband, child, and dog, even when they’re all driving me batty.
I’m thankful for my church, the congregation that has helped me stay sane, and the pastor whose sermons have never failed to be a comfort.
I’m thankful that we moved out of Boulder County before 2020 started, and I’m thankful for our county commissioners, who told Governor PasteEater where he could shove it.
And I’m thankful for my writing buddies, both here and in person, who gave me the encouragement to finally fulfill my lifelong dream of being an author. Two out the door this year; the goal is to get three out next year.
I’m thankful for the time that the plague gave me with my two wonderful teenagers. I got to know their hearts a lot better, and they got to know mine a lot better.
I’m thankful that the pain lead to growth. 2020 started with me running into the back of a precious young lady driving her grandmother, and I was gifted with insight into my selfishness.
I’m thankful that the spiritual discipline of writing Tiny Devotionals made it possible for me to start reviewing books again, and I’m ALSO grateful that the discipline of restricting myself to 300 words helped me write better.
I am thankful to discover how ignorant I have been about my brothers and sisters with different politics than I have.
I am thankful that my first-born son got his service dog, and that his healing continues.
I am thankful for grandchild #15, the adorable Amelia Ruth, who looks and acts just like her mommy at that age.
And mostly I am HUMBLED, HONORED and THANKFUL for my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, who is so very much better than I deserve.
I’m thankful for all my friends and family whether near, far, or only met online. I am thankful that my family is weathering this crazy year with not too many grumpy days, and so far, no lost jobs.
i am thankful to be as healthy as I am, to be learning, to be growing, and to be forging onward. They say a mung bean needs a lot of weight/pressure/challenge to grow strong. I shall be a mighty mung bean! I am thankful for my talents and that my fingers still work to do them. I am thankful for new friends that I am getting to know better and new opportunities in life.
I’m thankful for my family, friends and neighbors, for the fact that 2020 didn’t impact my household economically, and that I’ve been able to continue writing.
And for the potential addition to my tribe, as the Daughter Unit is now safely past her first trimester.
Yay for additions to the tribe!
I’m thankful we’re all healthy. We’re writing. We’re publishing. We’re going to eat a lovely turkey breast with the trimmings for dinner. I’m very thankful my parents are still hanging on.
I’m also kind of thankful for this year of our lord 2020 because not only does it have easy to remember numbers, but the year itself delivered in spades for being memorable in every single kind of way. A true bellwether. A demarcation between eras. After this year, no one can say they weren’t warned.
We’ll always remember 2020 even if we’d rather not.
I am thankful for the gift of salvation, for my job that allows me to work from home (even before the whole lockdown situation), for my immediate family, and for the additions to my family through marriage and birth, for good health, for my church, and for living in the best country (still) in the world.
Family, friends and health.