Thursday, November 22, 2007

The wonderful gift of thankfulness

First, I want to lend my very sincere thanks to all of you who commented on my last entry. As Susan pointed out, I was feeling pretty raw that day and your collective love and wisdom were a tremendous comfort to me and a reminder that fellowship takes a lot of forms in this world. Thank you.

This morning, researchers at Cornell University released findings that suggest taking time to feel grateful contributes to your overall health and well-being. Apparently, if you tell yourself that you have a good life you will, eventually, have a better life than the one you think you have now. This is not to say you should go and envision that Ferrari and think you'll actually get one, because I don't think it works that way. Oh, what the hell, give it a try; can't hurt and won't the guys at the office be surprised on Monday.

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch today...unless we count that little incident with the exploding marshmallows on the yams and the ensuing oven fire...but really, overlooking that, it was a great day.

For those who are curious: yes, my mother stayed for dinner. And yes, by all accounts she had a pretty good time. Talked and laughed with the other guests non-stop, figured out that the pickled peaches were, in her opinion, much improved by adding a healthy shot of Jack Daniels, had an exra helping of cheesecake for dessert. She toddled off to bed around 10:30, after I thanked her, sincerely, for being here, and after she thanked God that "all those goddamn peope are gone".

And today, I feel truly thankful. I had about 25 people here, between the first wave for dinner and the second wave for dessert (and I got to make my favorite joke Tuesday night: "No, I won't be here tomorrow. We're having 18 people for dinner Thursday and they take an awfully long time to cook"). All seemed to have a good time. It makes my heart glad to have a house full of people.

I found out, as well, on Tuesday that my aforementioned Death March Project was selected as one of two finalists. In a couple weeks I get to go to Washington and make a presentation that, if we are successfull, will allow my colleagues and me a chance to make a big difference to a group of young men and women who really need us.


I live in a warm safe house, with plenty of food and water, and we are lucky enough to afford a few luxuries. I am aware of how rare this level of comfort is in an uncertain world.

I have wonderful, supportive friends, both locally and across the country. What a blessing indeed it is to be able to silently speak your wishes and hopes and fears out into the world and have them heard and embraced.

I am healthy. Sure; I could stand to lose a few pounds and I get a lot of sniffles, but I am lucky to enjoy generally robust physical and mental health. Again, I am aware how rare a blessing this is.

I have a husband who loves and respects me, and I him. I have a healthy, sassy, beautiful girl who brightens every day of my life.

How wonderful to be able to count these as blessings. I feel healthier already.

How about you?

5 comments:

bhd said...

I'm just happy you had a great day.

We did the mellow thing. I found it hard to get excited about much of anything, but oh well.

rebecca said...

i'm trying to figure out why i didn't know about your blog until now. i can be pretty...well, clueless seems to be the right word. but, i'm glad i found it.

i have a niece who goes to cornell!!

and i'm thankful for all those things, too. it is important to have this day to remind us that we should be thankful every day, not just on thanksgiving. and your blog post is a great reminder of that for me.

winter said...

It's good to be grateful. *hug*

Mississippi Songbird said...

Bunches of hugs.. I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving..

Mermaid Melanie said...

I am glad that your mom stayed. And you ended up having a special day with everyone.

I am thankful for a child that actually didn't bug me too much and took long naps with me. And I didn't have any leftovers except pie.

darn it! :giggles: