Happy Thanksgiving

Yes, I am a cynical, curmudgeonly type, but still, I do love Thanksgiving. I don't love not being with family today (except for my devoted spouse), but I do love the idea of taking a day to feel thankful for the good things. Since my blog lately has been a series of whinings about my shoulder, I thought I'd take a few minutes to say what I'm happy about and grateful for.

I'm grateful for my devoted spouse, most importantly. Doug is gentle, kind, loving, generous, intelligent, humorous, and (to me, at least) handsome. Every person in the world deserves a spouse or partner who is as good to them as he is to me. He has his flaws, but they are few and of no real consequence. (After all, I'd rather be a golf widow than a crack widow.)

I'm grateful for my two sons. This has been a heartbreaking year for both of them in some respects, but they are physically healthy, intelligent, and kind-hearted. I'm grateful for the support they give to each other and for the love they have always had for each other. If I could wave a magic wand and make their lives better, I'd do it, but we always appreciate most those things we have to suffer to get.

I'm grateful for my job. Even if I hate having to spend half the week away from my husband, I do like my students, my colleagues, the classes I teach, my department chair, my office, and my overall work environment. I'm certainly grateful to have a tenure-track position at long last, even if I hate the politics and maneuvering that go on behind the scenes. I've been in departments where it is much worse.

I'm grateful for my health, even if I do have this stupid shoulder problem. It's not life-threatening, just happiness-threatening. My blood sugar is better than it has been for a long time, and I'm feeling pretty good except for the shoulder/arm. My mother's health at age 57 was horrible. She was dead by age 60. I'm grateful that I'm not putting my kids through what she put us through.

I'm grateful for my friends. I'm glad to have people who care for me because they want to and not because they are required to, the way relatives are. My friends deserve much of the credit for my becoming who I am, with the successes I've had. My friends have enriched my life and made my world a better place.

I am grateful for most of my relatives. I'm grateful that my cousin got a liver transplant. I'm grateful for the reasonably good health everyone is enjoying lately (with an exception here and there). I'm grateful that I don't live near my sisters and brothers, since that would make me crazy, but I'm glad I have a pretty good relationship with all of them. I'm grateful for my cousin Mary, even if that means I have to endure her right-wing husband's political viewpoints.

I'm grateful that Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States. I'm grateful that GWB will soon be retiring back to Crawford, Texas, where he can fade into obscurity. I'm grateful that the economic downturn doesn't seem to be hurting anyone any worse than it is, though it's certainly bad enough. So far, there are no soup or bread lines. I'm not having to extend my coffee grounds with dried potato peels, as my mother's family had to do during the Great Depression.

I'm grateful for good coffee. For my wonderful cat Simon. For the weather being clear and sunny today. For my new apartment that will give me privacy next year. For hope. For prospects. For love.