We are just a month away from Festivus and the official Airing of Grievances, but with Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow, maybe it’s time for a new tradition – Reverse Festivus.
It’s been quite the year. Quite the few years, in fact. So much loss, so much stress, so much anxiety, worry, stress, fear, anger, pain and rage. (Yeah, I added stress twice, I think it deserves double-billing.) But some really good things, too.
What is there to be thankful for? What helps you slog through the hard stuff, day after day?
As people are getting ready for the holiday, maybe you can pop in and tell us what you’re thankful for.
Or not. Open thread.
NWO Joe
I’m alive and warm and reasonably well fed, and in decent health. 25 years ago I was barely the first two.
And I get to help those that aren’t now and then.
Even in this place and this time there are still so many beautiful places and things and so many genuinely kind people. That’s good enough for me!
jo6pac
I’m thankful for the best landlord in the world because I couldn’t live this home.
Ryan
The Ahmaud Arbery verdict.
JPL
Joe. I’m thankful for Joe, because yesterday he told us all what to be thankful for.
When asked he looked at the person next to him in the food kitchen and said him. Maybe that’s all we can do.
artem1s
a little more than a year ago the vote was counted and GA flipped. There were stressful days between the election and the inauguration yet to come. But the feeling of dread that had been hanging over the country since 11/9/16 was finally lifted. I still can’t believe it was only a year ago.
Chetan Murthy
I have a lot to be thankful for:
Narya
Got the booster yesterday and it’s kicking my ass. And I was thinking this morning, before the kicking began, how grateful I am these vaccines exist. There’s more, but that is a lot; it’s huge.
Salty Sam
I GOTTA LOTTA GRATITUDE FOR YOU PEOPLE!
No name
Thankful for WaterGirl and her unfailing enthusiasm, positivity, and dedication to this site.
guachi
1. Vaccine and the fact I got shot #1 one minute after Biden became President.
2. Biden is President.
3. Millions more Americans with jobs.
4. I can travel freely (heavy military travel restrictions in 2020) so I’m visiting my mother for Thanksgiving.
5. The stock market is booming and I’m making money hand over fist.
JMG
My son and his wife are here for Thanksgiving. We were able to go visit my daughter in France for 10 days at the start of the month. No one I know (that I know about) has gotten the virus in these awful 20 months. Life is so much better than last Thanksgiving, it saddens me that most people don’t see that. They must lead lives that sucked (to them, probably not in reality) before the pandemic, too.
cope
#1 for me is knowing our granddaughter is getting her second inoculation this Saturday. There are some other rays of light in my life but that’s the brightest.
Narya
P.s. watching hip-hop evolution and really liking it. I know nothing at all about hip hop or rap so it’s fun to learn.
Kristine
I’m thankful for my (so far) good health, my friends, my pupster who at 15-more-or-less has definitely slowed down but still loves our walks, our POTUS, our VPOTUS, Nancy Pelosi, oases of sanity both on and offline, and vaccines.
nclurker
historical non-fiction and substance abuse.
phdesmond
i also am thankful for the Ahmaud Arbery verdict — and so was the first panel of guests on the Joy Reid show, a rare display of general satisfaction (for quite a number of minutes) .
Woodrow/asim
We have far more resources, on average, than at any point in human history, by a country mile.
I have a path towards finally doing some really critical work that I’ve been needing done for years.
And this XMas promises to be good for me, and mine, even as we grieve some beautiful people who have left us.
NotMax
Always having someone intelligent to talk to.
(Hint: I live alone.)
:)
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’ve made some new friends in my building. I’m grateful for that. It’s like when you were a kid and your friends lived on the block
Anotherlurker
I’m thankful for my good friends and my Rescued Golden Retriever, Addie.
She is my best! girl.
Betty
It really is hard to narrow it down, but a few things I am thankful for include a good and caring husband, having lost no family members to Covid although several were very ill and needed the monoclonal antibodies, a year with no hurricanes, a beautiful place to live, Joe Biden and almost all the Democrats in Congress, the good journalists who report the important stories, and the good folks of Balloon Juice.
raven
Artemis, who knew?
WaterGirl
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Like being in the dorms again in college?
WaterGirl
@raven: You thought you were helping her out!
FelonyGovt
I’m grateful for everyone here and in particular, WaterGirl, who works so hard and is helping us do some great things. And I’m grateful that my daughter got her Moderna booster yesterday. She is 34 and unlike her parents, has a social life so it’s particularly important that she be protected.
Scout211
Water Girl, you are a treasure. What a great idea for a pre-Thanksgiving thread. I am looking forward to reading all the comments full of gratitude. This could be a loooooong thread. I hope.
COVID is always on my mind. All my sisters, their families and our adult kids and their families have been vaccinated and boostered, except for the littles. The 11 year old and 8 year old grandkids have had their first Pfizer, though. Yay! One more under 4 will have to wait. I am so grateful for the vaccines and the availability and ease of getting them. And getting them for free!
This is a nice place to hang out and throughout the previous guy’s 4 years, a place that I felt kept me from constant panic and depression. Those were 4 awful years. So thanks all the balloon-juice front pagers and commenters. I am grateful for this place. ?
UncleEbeneezer
Every conviction/sentence for 1/6 gives me joy and hope that they are working their way up to some really big fish.
Benw
Suvitsef!
delk
Shoes on my feet and a roof over my head.
Health insurance and a stellar medical team.
Blue neighborhood in a blue city in a blue state.
My guy, 22 years and going strong.
ANNE’S DAILY COVID NEWS!
Suzanne
I am thankful for many things, one of which is that Spawn the Elder is coming next month for three weeks. We are getting some great work done in our house. I am about thirty pounds lighter than I was last year. Everyone is healthy, thank FSM. Spawn the Younger gets second shot on Monday. Fingers crossed for shots for littles.
WaterGirl
@delk: Love that. I think Anne Laurie should change the name of her Covid posts.
oatler
I bet T-day at the home will be reconstituted turkey and why not? Tonight it was reconstituted salisbury steak.
dmsilev
Thankful and glad that my family and friend circle are all sane and hence vaccinated. And while we differed in exactly where we set our individual thresholds for ‘safe behavior’, we all took things seriously, took precautions, and nobody got seriously sick.
UncleEbeneezer
I’m thankful to be on the right side of this battle for the Soul of Our Nation. No joke, that’s what I truly believe, even as someone who doesn’t believe in God or souls but does believe in right and wrong. I’m thankful for all the people who feel the same and who are willing to fight and for all they (you) do. No matter how it plays out, from a moral standpoint I’, 100% certain that we are on the right side of history.
WaterGirl
@oatler: Are they letting you out of your rooms yet? That would be something to be thankful for!
Eric S.
Infrequent commenter here…
I’ve had a terrible 45 days. At the beginning of October I was robbed at gun point outside my Northside Chicago condo. They got away with my laptop and some cash. They tried to steal my car but couldn’t Dr ve a stick shift. Thirty days later I had to put down my beloved feline companion, Ozzie. Fuck cancer!
During this entire time my friends stood up and were always there for me. I get multiple check-ins weekly. Asking if I’m ok. Asking if I need anything. Inviting me to events.
Yesterday I completed the paperwork and paid the fees to adopt to 7-month old feline partners. The only thing left to do is coordinate a time for the transfer from the foster.
I’m thankful for my friends. They are even better than I already knew. I’m thankful for the two little hurricanes I’m about to bring into my house.
Dan B
Thanks to BJ and the miracle “girll” who’s revved it up.
Our two characters, otherwise referred to as rocket cat and the big guy.
Having enough money in retirement to purchase new furniture, rugs,, and cool pillows from Turkey.
Great neighbors and friends who are politically aligned and schmart! Plus my brother and family.
That’s just the start. Yea!
Eric S.
@Salty Sam: Repeating what SSam said. While I comment rarely this place is a sanctuary in trying times.
MagdaInBlack
I have a job, a nice place to live, enough to eat, music, books, coffee, cannabis, good friends, and La Gordita to keep me company. That’s what got me thru and that’s what I’m thankful for.
Starfish
@UncleEbeneezer: Same.
oatler
@WaterGirl:
Yes, praise the lord. I can use the therapy gym now!
Kristine
@Eric S.: Damn. Glad you’re okay, but so sorry about your kitty.
Looking forward to news about your new bundles. Photos always appreciated.
Mike in NC
I just read where the WaPo wingnut columnist Marc Thiessen used to work or none other than the notorious Roger Stone. What a shocker that wasn’t.
Brachiator
I am seriously thankful that my family and friends got through this without any of us dying from Covid. A few did get Covid and became ill, but everyone survived.
Thankful for the vaccine. It was hard waiting to see if the vaccine would work, hard waiting our turn. And hard to have to deal with knowing that things had been made worse by Trump’s incompetence.
But again, thankful for the simple thing, that my brothers and sister and I have been through much, have had all kinds of life adventures, and we are still all here, together.
Jharp
I have a terrific wife and two awesome kids.
And we are all healthy.
I figure it really can’t get much better than that.
delk
@Eric S.: that’s awful. Very sorry to hear that.
TheflipPsyd
First. I’m thankful for this thread because as I am thinking of all the many things I am thankful for and there are too many to list. So just the top five
1. The Balloon Juice front pagers and commenters who remind me every day that there are caring, concerned, good people in this country and throughout the world– the past years I’ve struggled with believing in the good will of fellow US citizens.
2. My family and friends.
3. My health and my family’s health. Next week my two 11 year olds will get the vaccine. I am very thankful for the vaccine and science.
4. The pandemic has helped me appreciate my husband and children in a way that might not have happened otherwise. Although the “lockdown” was incredibly stressful, my family and l have gained an appreciation for the simpler things life– taking a walk at dusk, roasting a marshmallow at a firepit, sharing a laugh, having a catch, star watching, playing a family game of HORSE or just being instead of doing.
5. All the individuals who truly believe in our government, who have integrity, who fight for justice for all and do the right thing. The jurors of the Arbery case, the jurors for the UTR case, the people who changed the law so that the man unjustly convicted could be released after 47 years in jail. Biden for being the opposite of Trump in every imaginable way. And Jen Psaki just for putting the propaganda of the press in its proper place.
zhena gogolia
@No name: Yes, I agree, and for all the front-pagers and (most of) the commenters.
I’m grateful for Joe & Kamala.
My wonderful family and friends, and a (usually) great job working with lovely young people.
Mike in NC
@JPL: Remember way back when Paul Ryan pretended to wash dishes in a food kitchen? Those quaint times are long gone. Republicans after Trump actively want to kill the poor.
zhena gogolia
I am concerned about MattF, though. I don’t think he’s been back since he told us about an alarming medical episode. I hope he’s okay.
HumboldtBlue
My brother just sent a short clip of his 4-year-old granddaughter at the piano. She’s autistic, has trouble communicating, but it appears that once she hears a song she can play it.
She played Ode To Joy, used both hands and had a grin a mile wide when she finished. She’s never had a lesson, but I think that may change now, and it was a welcome respite to the non-stop drumbeat of terrible news/politics/covid drama.
JMG
I should have earlier made clear my thanks for Balloon Juice, a community of informed, passionate, caring and above all interesting souls that has enriched my life for some years now. Thanks to all, also Thanksgiving to all.
Rusty
Last at this time I was living seven hours away from my wife and two younger children for a new job, having lost my old one. The pandemic was in full rage, out youngest spent 6 days in the hospital in the spring with the pediatric inflammatory syndrome from exposure to COVID. We couldn’t see any of our parents. This year we are together, my parents are coming tomorrow. We have one of our older children here too. There are a lot of new stresses having moved, new school for our youngest, the third finishing high school where we used to live, etc. Still, incredibly grateful for us being together. That is enough this year. (I am now crying).
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: Only my “room” is a whole lot bigger. And the food is better.
mrmoshpotato
I got my booster today and all adults at Thanksgiving tomorrow will be vaccinated.
Oh, and we can actually celebrate Thanksgiving together this year!
And maybe Michigan won’t get destroyed on Saturday in Ann Arbor. Also, go Bears!
And I’m also thankful for all of you. :)
geg6
I have a great job where I get to help people and have an excellent boss (after a lifetime of nightmarish ones). My family and friends are sane, vaxxed and happy. Justice was served today. Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and 95% of all congressional Democrats are trying hard to get the legislation this country needs passed and done a remarkable and unheralded job of it so far, even if the process is frustrating. I am thankful for my puppies and kitty. I am thankful for John Cole, the BJ front pagers and all the jackals. Happy Thanksgiving!
Starfish
@zhena gogolia: That is concerning.
Chetan Murthy
@Eric S.: My god, I’m so sorry. And glad that you were unhurt. And laughing at “couldn’t drive stick” !! Ha!
raven
@WaterGirl: She’s soooo sweet!
mrmoshpotato
Hooray for our Democratic governor!
Noskilz
I thankful that Biden won the election, that GA of all places was able to push the senate out of GOP control, that safe, effective COVID vaccines are available to anyone who wants them, and for Borderlands 3, No Man’s Sky, and modded Minecraft.
HumboldtBlue
I found a dog who speaks to my soul.
Joy in FL
I am thankful for Balloon Juice people and pets.
lowtechcyclist
Even in these challenging times, there is so much to be thankful for. For my wife, who has somehow managed to put up with me for thirty years and counting. For our son who, though he is in the throes of teenage rebelliousness and obnoxiousness, is still the joy of my life. For a job that pays well, even if it’s not as much fun as it used to be until a year or so ago. For the knowledge that retirement is just a couple years off, and we’ll have every bit as much income then as now. For the miracle of the Covid vaccines, and for all three of us having had our shots, and my wife and I having had our boosters now. For family and friends. For online places like this one to hang out with smart and interesting people. That’s a start, there’s plenty more.
zhena gogolia
Steeplejack
@Eric S.:
Condolences on your travails. But you are doing a great thing in adopting the two kitties. It’s a tragedy when a matched pair gets broken up because no one will take both cats. May they be a blessing to you, as you are to them.
UncleEbeneezer
@Eric S.: Damn. So sorry to hear all of that.
zhena gogolia
Oh, God, I just discovered Dionne Warwick’s tweets (thanks, New Yorker).
Eunicecycle
I’m thankful my grandson got his first vaccination today. It’s such a relief that by the first of the year he’ll be protected. Then it will be March until the next 2 turn 5, or the age is lowered so the whole family will be vaccinated. Oh and I’m thankful I will have 2 new grandchildren next year!
Ruckus
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I have that as well. I moved into this seniors building going on 3 yrs ago and it has been a decent move. The last 30 yrs has seen me move 7 times. There was 3 times ago when it was going to be into my van and a friend let me stay for a year till I got my footing back. Earthquake, massive recession, complete and utter moronic excuse for human president, yep a roller coaster with loose bolts and a manic operator has been a rather wild ride for all of us.
Hungry Joe
I’m thankful that my family and I have it all-around better than 99.99 percent of all humans who have ever lived. Good, plentiful food; warm, comforting shelter; good health and modern medicine to back it up; safety/security that was once beyond imagining; instant access to knowledge and art and entertainment. Some wonderful friends. Right over there, not ten feet away, is Alice the Dog, almost 15, still her happy, goofball self. And somewhere around here is Phoebe the Cat, still … a cat.
steve g
Cats, Biden, and Balloon Juice. Plus family, friends, and coworkers seen remotely, and neighbors seen in person. Plus my life companion. Living through a global pandemic has been something else.
RSA
@Eric S.: I’m sorry to hear about your travails. Like Chetan, though, I had to laugh about the theft deterrent in your car.
Me, I’ll thank WaterGirl for suggesting this topic, because I’ve read that one of the most effective strategies for maintaining mental health is recognizing what you have to be grateful for. I’m grateful for my steady job and adequate quarters, the continuity of day-to-day living. I’m grateful that COVID hasn’t significantly damaged the health of my family or friends. I’m grateful for the hope that the future will be better than today.
AliceBlue
I’m grateful for all the front pagers and commenters here at BJ. So many of you have informed me, made me laugh (and cry). Made me a little angry too at times. Here’s to many more years!
trollhattan
When 2021 began there were no vaccines and covid was shredding the metroplex and we were hunkering down, wondering whether TP and salsa supplies would ever again be consistent.
Now we’re all vaccinated, pampering our bums with Costco’s finest and “Ole!-ing” tonight, before making our way to Thanksgiving with neighborhood friends tomorrow.
Quite a harvest. Also, it rained and put out the fires. A year ago the fires were still smouldering.
Felanius Kootea
I am thankful that Biden is President and Kamala Harris Vice President.
I am thankful for the miracle of effective COVID-19 vaccines within a year of a new infectious disease ravaging the entire world.
I am thankful for knowledgeable, caring healthcare workers who have done their jobs in spite of burnout and inadequate appreciation.
I am thankful for essential workers, who made it possible for me and mine to survive the pandemic.
I am thankful for my husband – working from home together has made us even closer (I feared the opposite).
I am thankful for my extended family and the fact that most are reasonable people.
I am thankful for over 81 million sane people, who rejected fascism in November 2020.
I am thankful for Balloon Juicers :-).
lashonharangue
Gratitude is a practice, not an attitude. So I try to think of something to be thankful for each day. It doesn’t have to be something big, just something to get my focus on the world outside my head. But stepping back, I am thankful my spouse survived two bouts of Covid in a year and that my dog insists I get off my butt and do some vigorous walking/hiking almost everyday.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I just sent an email to the address MattF supplied with his nym on BJ. Hopefully all is well and we will hear from him soon.
Fake Irishman
I’m thankful I have a healthy family, especially my youngest daughter who arrived six weeks ago tomorrow. I’m also grateful her three year old sister is head-over-heels in love with her and that my wife has had a rapid and complete recovery.
Fake Irishman
@mrmoshpotato:
Go blue! (Thankful for all the incredible people I met in that town while getting my PhD. Best years of my life)
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Thanks!
Steeplejack
@Fake Irishman:
Congratulations on the new addition to the family and everyone’s well-being. ?
raven
I just ordered a doggie dna test for Artie. I started looking at “Greybull’s” and she looks like one but it smaller that what they say the breed is.
Ms. Deranged in AZ
I’m thankful for:. My loving kids, finally having found a doctor who cares about me and listens, modern psychiatric medications, my adorable cat floofs who make me smile every day, a job where I probably earn more than I deserve, and this here community of jackals.
Fake Irishman
@Steeplejack:
Thanks! I’m also thankful that Nancy Pelosi traded Space Force for 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers in the FY 2020 budget negotiations. I’m taking all of it.
lowtechcyclist
Jeez, I didn’t mention the felines! We’ve got two, both about 2.5 years old. Iggy, who’s adopted me as his #1 person, is 15 pounds of loving, purring tabby. Absolutely the sweetest cat I’ve ever had.
MagdaInBlack
@raven: I’ll be interested in what you find out. Maybe whippet?
Steeplejack
@MagdaInBlack:
LOL. No way that pooch Artie is a whippet.
NotMax
@MagdaInBlack
Whippet? Whippet good.
:)
J R in WV
Glad Wife and I are well after 50 years together, triple vaccinated thanks to neighbor who works at the county Health dept who called when they needed to use up vaccines about to expire.
Lost 10 pounds according to Dr’s appointment yesterday, glad for that. Doc is crazy but keeping me healthy at nearly 71, glad for that.
Three dogs and 2 cats, all affectionate and cuddly. One has lost weight, but seems to be more hungry after last weeks vet trip. Been seeing Dr B for cats and dogs since probably 1980, state Vet of the year not long ago, founded the local Vet ER open nights and weekends!!
Many great neighbors and friends. No one died of covid, one friend, a nurse practitioner was ill for quite a while.
Glad to have B-J, thanks Cole and Watergurl. You all take care, even the crazy ones, you know who we are!
MagdaInBlack
@Steeplejack: A Greybull is a greyhound pit bull cross. He said she was too big, so I was suggesting the cross might be whippet instead of greyhound. Perhaps I read his comment wrong?
MagdaInBlack
@NotMax: Oh great….earworm ?
Nelle
We were just told last night that we will be grandparents again! The two girls (ages 2 and 4) have put in an order for a sister because “we don’t like boys.” They have named her Baby Rose. And they already love her. There may need to be a course correction needed along the way.
Kim Walker
I’ve been very grateful that my Dad gave his 8 yr old Subaru Outback to me 13 years ago. Dad is gone now, and soon the Subaru will be going. Needs a new gas tank and engine plus drive train/transmission work. Has needed a functioning A/C for at least 8 years. I’ve been all across the country in it and it was always dependable. The last few years I’ve put about $1000 a year into it for routine and other maintenance. And I just bought winter tires! I feel really sad about this – rather like I’m putting a good dog down.
BretH
Thankful for the talk I had tonight with my 21 yr old son about history, a subject he is absolutely fantastic at, spanning the origin of cities, Napoleon, Belgium, smaller east European countries, and so much more. So glad he’s studying something he’s passionate about!
frosty
I’m thankful for hot showers. Think about it – Henry VIII didn’t have hot showers. Louis XIV didn’t have hot showers. The vast majority of humans who ever lived didn’t have hot showers.
Or running water, and millions (billions?) don’t have that now.
Lyrebird
Lots to be thankful for here, too.
Kids all have at least one shot. The grandparents are all boosted. And they have some faith in me, even in a time where I’m going against the grain. One of my kids is having a tough time, and his needs do not fit the mold of what they expect at the school.
I got a lot of opinions and am sticking my neck out on the side of the people who have known him for longer. Kid seems to appreciate my believing in him and pushing for better help. Am trying to focus on the positive. Family stresses have left me dropping a lot of balls.
We are so lucky to have plenty of food and shelter and clothes and even several options for online school. And hey I got called for a political survey. “How do you feel about the job Joe Biden is doing?” they said. “I LOVE JOE BIDEN AND HE AND VP HARRIS ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB” I said. Caller laughed, in a good way.
Thanks WaterGirl!
Lyrebird
@Kim Walker: Yeah, that’s hard, especially if your dad was like mine and pretty fond of his car.
Jackie
I am thankful for the BJ angel who sent me Adam Schiff’s Midnight in Washington. After the 1st of the New Year, I look forward to paying this gift forward – donating to BJ sponsored Act Blue accounts, helping transport a pet to a forever family, help with pet medical expenses… whatever comes up in Jan ‘22 that I can help gift forward to thank the anonymous Angel who stepped up for me.
dearmaizie
@Eric S. and @SaltySam — I second that. This is a port in the storm. Thank you to all who make it so.
Also really, really, grateful trump isn’t pretend-president anymore.
Thankful for my family, their health, our animals. And all your animals here.
p.s. Dogs love rolls and turkey. Cats love turkey, but no dark meat.
bemused senior
Dead thread, but thankful I am still here 3 years after my stage 4 cancer diagnosis, 3 chemo rounds, radiation therapy and starting a 4th chemo next week. Thankful for my family, and having my twin grandkids living here through the pandemic. Thankful they got their first vaxes today. Too much more to list, including BJ.
scribbler
@bemused senior: Good luck to you. That is a lot to go through.
Jean
This has been an emotionally satisfying thread of comments. I comment rarely, but I read BJ every day. I am thankful for my husband of almost 41 years, my wonderful granddaughter who is almost to the end of her first semester at the Honors College at George Mason, planning to major in government and who’s been elected as freshman senator as well as Information Officer for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). She and I share a horse, and while I miss her terribly at the barn, I’m thrilled that she is happy and thriving in a new environment. My two daughters are estranged from us at this time, but I can live without the stress. Spending Thanksgiving with the other grandmother.
I am beyond grateful for the vaccines and for Joe and Kamala, and for all the good people in Congress. I am also grateful to be comfortable in retirement and to be able to contribute to my granddaughter’s tuition. Even with free financial aid and scholarships, there is still a decent amount to pay, so I’m grateful to her other grandmother for splitting the costs.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
this blog & all of you. ’nuff said
dearmaizie
@bemused senior:
As a cancer alumnus (6 years), I know what you’re going through. Hang in there. You are in my thoughts.
Steeplejack
@MagdaInBlack:
Sorry, no mention of a cross in your comment.
StringOnAStick
I am thankful for Joe, Kamala, Nancy and my two D Senators. A year ago we’d just moved here to a new state, the cats tolerated the 20 hour drive like (drugged) champs, and while we wouldn’t have our stuff for another 5 weeks, it was fine but we didn’t know anyone here. We met a now close friend while backcountry skiing and tomorrow we are joining his wonderful family for dinner. We have two neighbour couples who are now also good friends and one more couple likely to be the same; we’ve never had so many great neighbours! I am wrapping up a season of serious backyard transformation with intense hardscaping and my xeric and native plant landscape masterpiece gets planted next spring. My husband and I are healthy and about to celebrate our first full year of being retired. It’s been a good year and a new start in a gorgeous place.
Tehanu
I’m thankful for my husband of 47 years and my son and his family who are so close to us. I’m thankful for my (fairly) good health and my excellent job and my supportive boss. I’m thankful that I don’t have to use a black marker every goddam day to blot out photos of That Fkg Ghoul in the newspaper like I did when It was in the White House. I’m thankful for all of you and the other blog communities I follow at alicublog and lawyers guns & money, because through you I know I’m not alone in what I believe, and that there’s hope still for that better world we dream about.
Yutsano
I’m extremely grateful that I’ve been back to work two weeks successfully so far.
I’m grateful that my parents are good with me staying with them for a little while longer.
I’m grateful for this three dog, two cat, four horse (and bonus cow!) ranch.
I’m so grateful for this diverse community I found way back in 2008.
Mostly, I’m grateful for our esteemed Blogfather. What he originally created in 2003 has morphed into the most wonderful pit of snarling jackals that exists on the interwebs.
Thanks y’all. I know I’ve been lurking more lately but I’m still here.
NotoriousJRT
@WaterGirl:
Thankful for the efforts you put in for this community.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
I’m over half a day late, but it’s for the reason I’m thankful. For the first time in almost a decade, all my east coast family (and one of my west coast family!) will be here for Thanksgiving. We’re all (except the 2 babies) vaxxed, the olds and all but 3 of the youngs are boosted, and we have heated outdoor space and good ventilation, so I think it will be a safe Thanksgiving, even though it’s a gathering from along the Northeast.
What a way to break quarantine.
WaterGirl
Threads are never really dead until they move off the front page, and even then there will be people who left a tab open so they could come back to it later.
So there’s plenty of time to pop into this thread today and share your thoughts with us today.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Cephalus Max
@NotMax: I too live alone and am grateful for the jackaltariat community.
Cheers to Watergirl for a great post idea. Reverse Festivus indeed.
/relurk
Cephalus Max
@NotMax: I too live alone and am grateful for the jackaltariat community.
Cheers to Watergirl for a great post idea. Reverse Festivus indeed.
ETA: and I’m incredibly grateful for my rescue basset, Emmylou, and her recently departed ‘sister’, Patsy Cline. The best dogs.
/relurk
dearmaizie
@WaterGirl:
Thank YOU for making this site such a pleasure to visit!