Thanksgiving

I’m writing this from Government Camp, Oregon. It’s a small town on Mount Hood, Oregon– a short distance from Portland. We’ve been here for a couple of days after a couple of days before that in Seattle (and a day trip to Vancouver!). It’s cold, our bellies are full of delicious Thanksgiving foods, and tomorrow we will head back to real life in San Diego.

We have so much to be thankful for. This year has been fantastic for Mike’s business. Work for me has been challenging, but in a good way. Michaela started kindergarten and is doing really well. We traveled to six different countries (Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece, Vatican City, and Canada) and countless states (Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, Oregon, plus solo trips for me to Tennessee and Nevada. Okay, that’s not countless. That’s 5 or 7, depending on which one of us you’re talking about). We redid our kitchen. I saw Morrissey twice, two days in a row. We’re all healthy. We don’t live in a war zone. We have plenty of food, a roof over our heads, and much, much more.

If I’ve learned anything from the loss of two grandmothers this year, Mike’s and mine, it’s that we should be thankful for all the good things and try to enjoy the time we have here on this planet. I have been working on being more appreciative of my many blessings. I’m not always successful, but I’m trying.

So today, from Mike’s aunt and uncle’s house in the mountains, I say… Happy Thanksgiving!