Thanksgiving Leftover Thoughts

Another Thanksgiving has passed - or will have passed in 30 minutes. We had a day full of people and food, often more food than people. We were joined by Bri Nichols, Steve & Lynne Willis, Jason & Lindsay Wenth and Dave & Tracy Sliker, although not all of those were here at once. They sort of strung out between 1 pm and 11 pm. We had food to feed an army. At one point, even with a good portion of those people (and Kels and I and my mom) here, we had more than one pie per adult...I will not go any further except to say I did my part.

Each year I craft a heart wrenching Thanksgiving blog that has Hallmark TV Special written all over it. While I am thankful for all the usual things, I am in a decidingly less Opraphic mood, so instead of listing the obvious things I'm thankful for (God, Family, Coffee), I will list some of the little things that make a difference in my life.

I am thankful that the SS Family Truckster is still plugging away at 143,500 miles...thankful because I really like the truck and even more thankful because we're in no position to replace it!

I am thankful for email, because it means fewer phone calls. And I can't call people at 5 AM, but I can send'm email.

I am thankful that a contract we had on a house on Mitchell Avenue in Cincinnati about 2 years ago didn't go through. I think we dodged a bullet on that one.

I am thankful that my cousin, Gayle, left a comment on my blog (the post of my childhood photo) tonight. I hear rumors of her moving this direction from the State of Washington but no direct confirmation as of yet. When I hear for sure, i'll be grateful for that too.

I am grateful for my team at IHOP. They are very kind and ask my opinion with the full knowledge that I know little or nothing about what they're doing (which is why I am in management as opposed to production, where I could do some damage).

Ever had Grandma Shearer's Salt & Vinager Potato Chips? I'm thankful for them.

I'm thankful that I can't really get every bit of playa dust off my black Doc Martens, because I don't think I really want to.

I'm thankful that I will not be graded on this blog as if it were a writing assignment.

and finally...

All across the US, there are people standing in line already for stores that will open in four or five hours. They are standing in the cold in hopes of dropping $400 on a new xbox 360. I am glad I am not one of them.