Thanksgiving

Although today is a national holiday that we celebrate with football games, turkey, pies, etc., be thankful for the blessings in your life.  Believe me, I LOVE football, turkey, pies, etc.  My doctor and the pies sitting in my fridge can attest to this.  I’m trying not to have a nice “small” piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Leading up to today, I’ve been thinking about what I’m thankful for.  Although I have plenty of things that I’m thankful for, the past couple of years especially have made this time of year more and more difficult.  I guess it’s something that happens with age and “wisdom”.

Despite those things that have been “royal bummers”, there are still a great number of things I’ll be thinking about as I watch the Pats beat the Lions and eventually doze off in an l-tryptophan induced sleep.
I’m thankful for my relatively “OK” health.  Volunteering at EC Week every year helps remind me that even though my waist line is larger than what I’d want, things could be much much worse.  EC Week also lets me continue the memory of my Aunt Kathy, even if in a small little personal (not anymore) way.

Although getting laid off kinda sucks, I’m thankful that I have had a job that allowed me to give  be able to give back and donate to charities that are important to me; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Stroke Association, MSPCA, to name a few.  If you have any “extra” money, please think about giving some to a an organization that is meaningful to you.  The incessant mailers, updates, newsletter, and requests for more money may be a little annoying but in the grand scheme of things it’s not that bad, is it?

I’m thankful that my parents sacrificed to send me to good schools that offered great educational opportunities.  Opportunities that I didn’t take full advantage of, but I still think that I did well enough.
Related to education, I’m thankful that God gave me a voice that was good enough to attend a school that opened doors that probably would have remained shut, being a kid from Dorchester.  I know that without the “choir school”, I would have never spent part of the summer in the Berkshires performing at Tanglewood, never mind singing at Symphony Hall and the Opera House.

I’m thankful for football.  I will always remember the Saturdays and Sundays when I listened and watched football with my dad.  He never said that football was his favorite sport, but I’m pretty sure that it was.  I remember listening to the end of the Notre Dame games with him in the car just before the 4pm mass on Saturdays.  Sometimes we were a little late for mass.  I don’t think my mother approved of that.  Dad had his chair at the dining room table on Sundays where he could have Sunday dinner (lunch) while watching the game and listening to the Pats on the radio.  

I’m thankful for having friends and family that we always be there when I need them.  A family that now includes two (more) wonderful nephews.  Although we don’t see each other enough, (my fault) or even talk over the phone (again, my fault) or exchange an email (yup, my fault), I know that I can count on them.  Hopefully, they know that I’ll be there for them as well.

So, today as we officially begin holiday season, please take take to think about those people, places, and blessings that have helped you get to where you are today.  Not having some of the people with you anymore or not being able to go to places where you want to go may suck, but be thankful for having that emotional reaction and celebrate as if they were still here – because they are, in your hearts and actions.

There are so many more things that I'm thankful for, but I'll let you get back to enjoying your day.

Now, I’m off to have some pie!  Get ready Mr. Pumpkin pie, be thankful for allowing me to have my first serving of fruit today before my second later on (cranberry sauce).

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!