Off the Top of My Head

Things I am thankful for

I am thankful that beginning on Sunday I will FINALLY be unemployed. Hallelujah!

Each of the last four Thanksgivings I volunteered to work so that my coworkers could take the day off and be with their families. This year everybody is off and instead of working I’ll be spending Turkey Day with my two beloved granddaughters and family. I am definitely thankful for that.

After almost seven weeks of horrific winter weather I am truly thankful that today is supposed to be sunny and warm.

I am thankful that earlier this year an Ace Hardware store opened up just a block and a half from where I live. Now I don’t need a vehicle to haul lumber with. I can do it on foot — the way cavemen used to do it. I am definitely thankful for the Helpful Hardware Man.

Of course when I went to get some lumber yesterday I was helped by a Helpful Hardware WOMAN. Right on! After paying for the lumber I was about to hoist the lumber onto my shoulder to walk it home when I said to her, “Have a happy Thanksgiving.”

Apparently, saying that pushed a button in her or something. She immediately started yakking away at a hundred miles an hour. She told me how she loved Thanksgiving. She told me how she hated Thanksgiving. She told me of her chronic Thanksgiving anxiety. She told me details about some of her family members that I really didn’t want to know about. And then she told me that when her family and her husband’s family get together for Thanksgiving that they have to rent a pavilion because there are over 250 family members.

My jaw dropped, “Holy smokes! 250?! That’s not a family. That’s an army.”

She finally stopped talking for a moment. She tilted her head a little then asked, “So how many family members do you have?”

It did not take me long to tally them up in my head, “Eleven. And only three of them live around here. The rest all live far, far away.”

“Oh, that is so sad!”

Is it? I never thought that was sad. I realized that I am actually thankful for that. If I had over 250 family members I would go bankrupt every Christmas.

So I am not only thankful for having a teeny tiny family but I’m thankful that I only fathered ONE child.

I am also very thankful for trees. Without them I couldn’t buy lumber with which to build shelves for real books. Yes, I feel absolutely horrible for killing trees — both through lumber and books. To assuage my guilt I swear that I am going to plant some trees come spring. I’m really going to do it this time.

I’m also very thankful for birds — the ones singing in trees more so than the one that’s going to be on the dinner table later today. I think everyone knows what a bird freak I am. After all, without birdsong the universe would collapse.

I am also thankful for Medium. I learn so much here.

Let’s see… I am also thankful for still being alive. Being alive is really cool.

I am sure that I will think of plenty of other things to be thankful for throughout the day. I can’t wait to see the granddaughters. I’m very thankful for them. Giving thanks is a very healthy thing to do. We shouldn’t only do it on Thanksgiving, though. It’s even healthier to make it a daily practice. But right now I better start getting ready for the Turkey Day festivities.

Oh yeah, I am also thankful for my new tennis shoes. I am thankful for my feet so why wouldn’t I be thankful for what protects them? Going barefoot occasionally is extremely healthy but when I’m walking lumber over cement and asphalt I prefer a good pair of shoes. After all, I’m not a caveman.

Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

And here is my Thanksgiving love story…