My Special Thanksgiving

I know we don’t “celebrate” Thanksgiving like they do in the US, but that needn’t stop us from saying “Thank You”.

In 2008, it was Thank You, Time.

Back in March 2009, I wrote “I know it is not Thanksgiving, but…” and then, in November the same year, on Thanksgiving Day, I thanked the people who made a big difference in my life. In November 2010, I wrote a simple thank you message.

This year, though, I am in the mood to make a list of things I am thankful for. A rather assorted list, and by no means comprehensive.

This Thanksgiving . . .

• I am thankful to be alive
• I am thankful for enjoying food, shelter and clothing (even if I have to do the cooking myself)
• I am thankful for electricity, without which most of our gadgets wouldn’t function, and I am talking about my hot water tank, my microwave, the fans, the lights. Oh, the phone, internet etc. come a pretty close second
• I am thankful to be blessed with a sense of humor that make some painful times not only bearable, but also laugh-worthy
• I am thankful for my wonderful husband and son who mean the world to me
• I am thankful for the tough times that have challenged me to grow and change even if I was not sure of being ready for it
• I am thankful for my education, which enabled me take up a whole new career
• I am thankful for my “jobs” which is a real source of income over the last few years
• I am thankful to the #NaNoWriMo experience which proved to me, again, that I can do anything I set my mind to
• I am thankful for my shortcomings, because it means I can constantly improve
• I am thankful for the love I receive from my family, my friends – real and virtual
• I am thankful for the lovely people I’ve met through blogging, who are so generous with their love and support
• I am thankful I can communicate with my friends
• I am thankful for the learning on a daily basis
• I am thankful for the sometimes messy home which allows me to clean up and appreciate what we have
• I am thankful for the washing machine which uncomplainingly washes our clothes clean
• I am thankful I don’t have a maid because it helps me keep fit,cheaply and mindfully
• I am thankful I am earning money every month, because it means I have the cash to support my favorite charities
• I am thankful to the guy who delivers bread in his van to the supermarket from where I buy it for smiling at me everyday
• I am thankful to be “Ms.Fixit” at home and being praised for being so resourceful and smart and ending up having most of the stuff dumped on me to do
• I am thankful for the Internet and unlimited broadband which is a great source of education to me and without which I wouldn’t know a tenth of the things I know today, for whatever it is worth
• I am thankful for colleagues at work who are great company, virtually and who love me. (they told me they did)
• I am thankful for television, for I get to enjoy my favorite real-life Crime series. I know I could simply read the newspaper, but what the heck
• I am thankful for my DVD player which means I get to see my all-time favorite Lt. Columbo in action
• I am thankful to Kamal Haasan, the Tamil movie star because his comedy movies have us all rolling with laughter and no matter what each of us is doing, the moment one of us finds out that a particular movie we like is on air, we drop everything to laugh together.
• I love Twitter, because I get my news from it. So maybe it is not always reported well, but it is fun. What is life without a little rumor?
• I am thankful for friends who keep in touch and call regularly and chat for hours
• I am thankful to YouTube, where I can watch or listen to any song I like
• I am thankful for Facebook, which enables me keep in touch with classmates I went to school with (this may sound like no big deal – but when you pass tenth grade in 1978 – it does matter, wouldn’tya say?)
• I am thankful to Terri, Kim, Angela, Betsy, Sheila, Unknown Mami (yes, I hope she’ll tell me her name and remove her paper bag one day. I wish) – who visit here regularly and whose URLs I type directly in my browser to visit their websites. Yes, I am like that. Memory of an elephant. Scent of a woman sounds so much sexier. Oh well
• I am thankful for the new connections I’ve made
• I am thankful to Gingerchai and Lakshmi Rajan – who makes me feel like I am a big deal
• I am thankful to the people who always make me smile

I am thankful for everything, every moment, every experience and I am ever grateful to my Mom for bringing me into this world.

What do you feel thankful for? What is on your list?