Thanks Giving

Our (mine and Oscar's)Thanksgiving will be Sunday, when, rather than go out to eat as we previously planned, we will stay home, avoid the mad holiday shoppers, throw a few buffalo burgers on the grillerator, and be glad we're together.

I just read the ColorJoy blog, where guest Blogger Susan Luks expressed my heart, and I'm certain the thoughts of many of us. It's inspired me to go on a little web jaunt, finding sites in the same vein to share today.

The first one I came across was called THANKSGIVING IN IRAQ (2005) from a wonderful site of photos put together by a soldier named Lainey who has recently returned from a year and a half tour with HHC 256 Bde. I'm certain there are other fine military websites out there, but this one charmed and moved me with its view, in microcosm, of the dedicated people currently serving. My favorite was perhaps the GETTING TO KNOW YOU section where "For a whole month (she) approached soliders and asked them 5 questions, took their pictures, and posted them on the website."

Ever since I my first search on Jughead in the 1980s when I ended up reading articles at a university in Australia, I've loved the way one part of the internet can branch off to another, leading you down paths you might never have encountered otherwise.
Today through my thanksgiving search I found the site IMPROBABLE RESEARCH. The hit was on an article leading to studies of weight gain during thanksgiving which didn't excite me much. But the core site, wow! One of the traits Oscar and I both cherish in each other is the thirst for learning. And our, shall we say, quirky take on the world. (ok, other people just call us weird) I can hardly wait for Oscar to get up and get a look at this place! Talk about tailor-made for us! THe only way it would be more appropriate is if it had some kind of dancing Otter logo :-}

This whole site put me in a mood for quirk so when I saw "Worst Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe" I couldn't resist the click. It was a marginally tasteless brief discussion of scatalogical desserts (desserts made to resemble less than appetizing items, specifically Kitty Litter cake and turd cookies) I was especially impressed when I saw the core site was Luxury Resort Travel. Huh? And this ties in well with the weight gain during Thanksgiving thing. How to avoid putting on weight? Make desserts even a starving teenager might not risk eating.

Wow, how far I traveled from Susan's beautiful words. It all ties in with my own feelings, though. The older I get the more things I find to be thankful about.
The more pain and difficulty life hands me, the more thankful I am for the many parts of my life that are crap-free. Indeed, not merely not painful or not difficult, but actively glowing with joy and promise, and absurdity. Those little bits of serendipity (doo-dah) that show up, if you just pay attention.
Although, like everybody, I have my moments of wallowing in self pity or pure grumpiness at one situation or another, at my core I am most thankful that somehow, joy manages to creep in when I'm not looking. Like today, I can be waiting for the pills to kick in before attempting the dishes, and come across "Improbable Research" and get a case of the giggles.

Or a few nights ago. Something that day had reminded me of Robynn. There's still a lot of grief left, but that night I had a dream that lifted much of it. I dreamed that Robynn's familiy and I were sitting in a diner-style restaurant, and Robynn arrived, and somehow we ended up dancing and singing to some '80s tune. Silly, but I woke with a smile on my face. Now when I think of Robynn, yes, I get tears in my eyes, but there's also that smile.

So thanks, Universe. I loves ya.

(image, my Kali fingerpuppet, available at Archee McPhee)