TAKING A MINUTE TO BE THANKFUL

It's the week of Thanksgiving, so it seems appropriate to take a minute and think about that for which I am thankful.  First and foremost, I am eternally grateful for those that have loved, supported and believed in me.  [Cue the tears.]  It sounds cliched, I know, but if you take a step back and look at the current economic status for many in this so-richly blessed country, you know that not everyone is as blessed as we are . . . I am including you in that number because you are reading this blog and, therefore, have at least access to the internet.  Some fellow countrymen (and women) don't.  If they get a turkey dinner or any food at all, they will have to rely on shelters or churches or some other form of outreach for that food . . . for themselves and, sadly, for their children.

I have a phenomenal circle of love and support, in my family and in my friends and in those friends I think of as family.  My son, thankfully, has a job . . . but he doesn't have a car, so he walks to and from work most days.  But, thankfully, his job is a mile or less from his home.  There's the blessing . . . he has his own home . . . at 20.  He's learning the pros and cons of home ownership, the maintenance and the upkeep . . . but he has his own home.  He's working the grill at a local diner but wants to go to school for culinary arts.  There's the blessing . . . he has a job.  He's not getting as many hours as he'd like, but he's working at a time when nearly 10% of the country can't get a job.

That includes me.  I've been out of work for more than two years.  Of course, I'm on the north side of 50.  It's the first time I've been unemployed for this length of time since I was 17.  But a friend told me, "You have to make your own economy in this economy."  My mother (who is still working) told me, "If you can't find a job, you'll have to create one."  There's a blessing . . . sage advice from those to whom I am close.  So I started writing a book, RAISING THE BAR OF SOAP.  I fell back on a craft that I've enjoyed for more than a decade.  It took nearly two years to complete the book, but I did and had it copyrighted.  I used my mother's computer to type the manuscript.  Once the book was finished, I accessed my sister's computer to research the venues for publication.  A friend reminded me, "Electronic publishing is going to be the most immediate venue."  Another friend got me my own computer for my 50th birthday in September.  With financial assistance from a benefactor, I have been able to translate my book to this website.  The website has been a labor of love . . . the labor, naturally, has been mine . . . the love has come from those to whom I am closest.  Things could, of course, be better . . . I could have 10,000 hits a day on the website and 1,000 sales a day from the online store.  I could have more than 3 followers on twitter . . . I could win the lottery.  But there is, for many (if not most) of us, so much for which to be thankful already.  I wish all of you a happy, food-filled, love-filled, blessings-filled Thanksgiving and hope you will take at least a moment to realize and recognize the many things that make your life so blessed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope that if you leave a comment to this blog, it will be one that expresses the things for which you are thankful!