Thanks Giving
I’ve done the list, many years now, of Things I’m Thankful For at Thanksgiving. Then I went to a daily 3 Thanks in my journal. I’ve strayed from it, recently, and so….this post!
My wife. If this list were in order (which I cannot promise it will be as it evolves) she would be at the very top. My Love Language is Service, and she supports me in so many ways I think I’d overflow the Internet if I listed them. I love my wife, even if she doesn’t read my blogs, hopefully she knows how grateful I am to her.
My family. Ever seen those before/after pictures of presidents, how that just 4 years in office ages them so? That’s what kids did to me. Well, that, and it’s been over 20 years now in the parenting saddle (strange images evoked there). Anyway, my 4 kids mean so much to me. They teach me so much. They test me so much. They are incredible humans, and if I based my life solely on my mission to get them launched into this world as wonderful, successful, brilliant people….well then, mic drop! They have arrived. I am grateful for them every moment of every day.
My friends. It must be hard to befriend me. I’m sometimes scattered in my attentiveness, but I hope my friends feel I reciprocate the love and support and…well…friendship they provide me. I get such supportive emails and comments on my writing endeavor (and on my regular day job, and on my farm hijinks, and…). These friends of mine are great at what friends do: support. I think I’d slink into a cave and suck my thumb if not for all the people who engage with me. Thanks to them is hard to itemize or express to each of them in turn, but hopefully they know who they are and feel the love.
My fans. That sounds conceited, but I’m writing it anyway. Some people who flock to this blog or buy my books are becoming true fans. They’re citing quotes my characters say. They’re seeing airships in cloud formations. They’re passing books along to others by reviews or recommendations or just outright buying the books for their friends. This is how things grow, and I’m surely surprised and grateful it’s all growing so well.
Writing. Novels. Short stories. Poems….the works. I am so grateful that not only have I been able to express myself, so have millions of others over centuries of the written word. Writing allows us to be immortal, to be transcendent, to be telepathic. Through writing, we can pen down the song of the synapses snapping, capture and curate our thoughts, and share.
Creativity. I’ve cursed it many times, for I used to believe in the old paradigm that one is either creative or not. I’ve since learned even the most mathematical and stalwart people can be creative. I’ve learned that creativity is a gift that does not exclude me from also becoming more logical and higher functioning in the workaday world. What creativity does do, however, is provide escape. I can leave this world behind, whether in a day dream or any creative endeavor I may choose. I have an outlet, an escape pod, a pressure release valve in creativity. I need to appreciate it more for what it is.
A rafter of turkeys being grateful.
