Tomorrow is Canadian Thanksgiving, also known by many as Turkey Day. I know it’s a little cliché (OK, maybe even a lot), but I am going to write my list of things I am thankful for. Even when Roland and I lived away from Canada for so many years, we always found a way to celebrate the holiday, and I always stopped to think about what I am grateful for. It only seems right to carry on in this tradition now that we are home and able to spend it with family.
And that is the first thing I will say I am thankful for, the ability to spend Thanksgiving with my husband and other family members. This year, we have the added bonus of my sisters-in-law being able to join us as they have now both moved here from Ottawa.
Now here are eight other things I am thankful for this year (in whatever order they popped into my head).
- My beloved dog Bailey is old enough to have seen his 16th birthday this week, and he is still a happy, healthy canine that makes me laugh every single day.
- I am finally learning how to relax and enjoy myself a little—I chose to take only one course at school this semester instead of loading myself with extras. (I only need this class before I have enough credits to do my workplace experience next semester).
- The course I kept was one I chose purely for my own pleasure instead of for career goals for a change, so I am therefore having fun again with poetry, which I have not found time for in too long.
- My car—which I bought when I graduated university the first time—is now 20 years old, but it’s in good condition and still runs (long may it continue to do so).
- I got word this week that if I stay enrolled in full-time classes next semester (and I will), that I will receive another scholarship (this will be my fifth). I am grateful for the money itself and also for the talent I was given that helped me earn it.
- Although Roland did not get his full-time job back due to insufficient students, he is still working at least three days a week as a sub.
- The hot tub at my local pool has finally re-opened, so I can go and soak myself in its hot water and jets to ease my aches when I need to. (The difference it makes to how I feel is substantial.)
- Our summer garden has been bountiful, so we are still taking fresh tomatoes, peppers and raspberries from our plants—and even a few Gerbera daisies.
Finally, perhaps the thing I am most thankful for at this particular moment in my life:
My husband Roland, who has always been supportive even with all my health problems, has been especially wonderful while I have been working on transitioning to a gluten-free lifestyle. At this very moment, he is in the kitchen, making me special gluten-free stuffing for my turkey dinner so that I won’t have to feel left out or deprived (even though he himself is sick with a head cold, and I told him it wasn’t necessary for him to go to the effort).
What girl could ask for more than that?
