Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow kicks off the traditional holiday season, and I'm torn between weeping from sentiment and weeping from sadness. The tears seem to come from different directions, but perhaps they are two branches of the same river.

My love and gratitude for family and friends bubbles over into sentimentality. My sadness at what's going on in the world wounds me to my soul. Each of these feeds the other--I fear for my loved ones, because I'm aware of how much I love them, and want them to be safe, because...

I'm sure you get the idea.

The world is in such a state, such a state. There is much to fear, and of everything, I think I'm most afraid of being afraid. Churchill was right. A fearful creature assumes "fight or flight" position. If I am afraid of the world, I shall either lock all the doors and hide away, or get out the kitchen knives and prepare to meet my enemies.

And when you're afraid, everyone's your enemy.

Full disclosure: you can call me a bleeding heart. I don't like the term "liberal" any more than I like "conservative." I don't understand what those terms mean anymore. I'm a woman who sees pain in the world and wants to make it go away. I know I haven't seen the seamy underbelly of human existence, and I do believe there are people who are evil. Believe it or not, I do believe in the death penalty for some people. I'm just not willing to paint everyone with one broad stroke.

I'm also not willing to be so afraid of the world that I want to turn people away from our borders, or tag people because they belong to the "wrong" religion or in any way treat people as though they are not the same as me.

And seeing the frailty of life makes me want to keep my loved ones even closer. I want to hug a little tighter, linger a little longer, share all the moments with all the feels. I even want to spend more time with my pets. My life seems so full of blessings, I think I might explode with joy.

This Thanksgiving, I'm all sappy with gratitude for what I have, and aware of what others need. Now more than ever, I possess a deep desire to make life better in my little corner of the world, and hope I can pass the torch to someone else for their corner.

Recently, I got a snippet-of-a-snippet of a song stuck in my head. I went to the internet to find the rest of the song, and I was surprised at how timely it was.



I know we can make it if we try. 

Thank you

Happy Thanksgiving. On this day, we remember all that we have and we are thankful. If we want more, this is not the day to make that wish. It's the day to recognize that others may have less. My only regret during this holiday season is that we do not help people more the rest of the year.

What am I thankful for? My life. I always think that other people live their lives on a line graph, going mostly up, or mostly down. Mine's been more of a scatter chart, with points at odd and random locations on the X,Y graph.

Had I stayed on the planned path, I would have a lot fewer regrets.

Had I stayed on the planned path, I would have also had a lot more regrets. Because of my first divorce, I had to get a job. Because I stumbled upon a computer job, I was able to move to California. Each random event forced me to a decision that brought me to the Here and Now. I have a family I adore, I am doing things I love to do, and I am living my life in an environment of love and support.

In addition, I am thankful for the readers who like what I do and are always asking for more. God knows I'm addicted to writing, but you keep me focused on telling novel-length tales. Thanks for buying my books. Thanks for the notes and emails telling me you liked what you read. Thanks especially for writing reviews. You are all angels.

I was going to post a few fun videos revolving around giving thanks, but the one I like most is this one.



They may be having a Christmas feast, but I'll join in their toast: God bless us, every one. (In whatever form you believe God exists.)

Happy Hanukkah

I am not Jewish, so I always have to look the word up, mostly because I am intrigued by the other spelling, Chanukah, and between the two I can't figure out how many Ns, Ks, or Hs there are. I suppose I should just wish all my Jewish friends a Happy Festival of Lights.

With Thanksgiving so late and Hanukkah so early, the whole holiday season seems to be askew, but I've promised myself to not stress about it, so this is me not stressing.

This is where I'd post a video. I know you're all expecting me to post Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song, but I was feeling a little more informational today. For my non-Jewish friends (and to remind myself), here is a short and rather delightful explanation of the holiday.



I suppose I should apologize to my Jewish friends if I try to make a huge deal out of it. I realize it's not one of the major holidays, like Christmas is for us. I'm just always excited about any celebration that involves presents, lights, and blessings.

Enjoy, and shalom.