Thursday, 25 November 2010

Must. Be. Thankful. Must. Be. Thankful.

UK friends: This is pretty much what Thanksgiving in the States is like

Ugh. Why do kids have to be so bloody competitive? Today we were playing Illness Poker and although I no longer have a sinus infection to play with I wagered my thrush and Jamie outbid me with chicken pox and then Maia said, 'I see your chicken pox, Jamie, and I raise you a urinary tract infection.' All right, Maia, you win. You are the ill-est of them all. Well done, have this statuette of Caligula*. Another week sacrificed to the pox, my plans for a pre-Christmas sale scuppered. So perhaps I'm not feeling as thankful as I was last year. Or maybe I just need to look past my self-pity and see the bigger picture.

*As you might have gathered, she is not an appreciative or cooperative patient.

Things I am thankful for (2010 edition):
  • My micro-family: who keep me amused and bemused in equal measures but who I love with a fierceness that is overwhelming
  • My macro-family: whether you be at home and abroad, thank you for being at the end of the road or the end of the phone, and for the graciousness with which you are happy to switch places
  • My quasi-family: my beloved real life friends and my treasured cyber pals, both locked-and-loaded for shenanigans. Cowl dresses optional but recommended.
  • Scotmid: Thank you for the frozen party food for our very authentic dinner tonight. Nope, not homesick at all. Eating mini spring rolls on the couch with Steven = Thanksgiving. It's the same thing.
  • Ex-pat misfits: who understand that eating spring rolls on the couch on Thanksgiving is slightly tragic and invite you to share the proper experience with their family this weekend. Just like grown-ups do. And did so last year. And those who send you candy corn and Peeps at Halloween because life is practically meaningless without them. True fact.
  • Apple: I might not be able to afford your products be so cool I need an Android phone, but you make Damn You Auto Correct! possible and for that I am eternally grateful
  • Dan Simmons: Thank you for writing a book twenty years ago that I never knew about until Steven's birthday, and thank you for making it sound too scary for Steven to read without pre-vetting. It was awesome.
More than anything (and this deserves more than a pithy bullet point), I am grateful for perspective. Although I was a lot less personally affected than others, attending the funeral of someone taken from their friends and family much too young has reminded me how insignificant my personal grievances are. I am truly blessed and eternally grateful. But also pretty sleepy.

Right, peeps. Let's hear it. What are you thankful for?
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6 comments:

  1. Louiz25 November 2010 at 23:00

    I'm thankful I live here and now. This is the result of watching the wonderful Edwardian Farm last night. I am truly thankful for living now. We have running water here, and electricity, and central heating and (my favourite domestic appliance) washing machines and also the internet. And antibiotics. Even though I'm only a quarter American I think I can embrace the idea of thankfulness!

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  2. KID, MD26 November 2010 at 01:09

    Oh. My. Gosh. My entire family just spent the last hour laughing at Damn You Auto Correct. That is freaking hilarious!!

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  3. Apryl26 November 2010 at 08:49

    I'm thankful for my husband even if he wont lit me have a little dog to keep me company in the day and go for walkies with in the frost and pissing down rain. I am thankful for my son who is at school right now suffering a snuffly nose for the cause of education. I am thankful for my parents who I miss so much. I am thankful for my mother in law who has had a terrible year... and I am thankful that we knew the loved ones that have passed on this year.

    and lastly I am thankful for my friends... the ones in the world and the ones that live in my computer and sometimes send me things that plaster huge smiles on my face and are always there when you need to talk...or type.

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  4. Becca26 November 2010 at 11:50

    I am thankful for you referring to Damn You Auto Correct, I have tears streaming down my face I've laughed so much.Oh and I'm thankful for everything else too, obv. I haven't laughed so much since Charlie Stayt's fart on Breakfast.

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  5. Kate at M is for make26 November 2010 at 12:37

    Like Becca, I am thankful for Damn You Auto Correct, am crying with laughter. My 3 year old has taken offense and thinks I am laughing at him, I am thankful for his sensitive side. And central heating.

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  6. Pickled Weasel26 November 2010 at 15:15

    I am thankful that Munchkin is currently asleep, so she can't see me crying with laughter at Damn You Auto Correct and ask what's wrong.
    I am also thankful for a sunny day, mr pickledweasel wangling some paid overtime so that we can buy new furniture, my mom who is a wonderful person and does a lot for me, and the happy times I spent with my uncle who passed away yesterday after a six year fight with cancer.

    ReplyDelete