Thanksgiving

As my weekend comes to an end, I want to take a few moments and acknowledge a few things that I’m most grateful for this year, but first, a few thoughts and observations.

Often we take many things in life for granted. If we stop what we are doing, and just look around us, we will see so many materialistic things. What do these ‘things’ do for us? The very computer that I’m sitting here and typing on, has been a tool that has made this year more manageable. Like many of us, we have come to rely on our computers to make our every day life operable. From sitting in Zoom meetings for classes, work and even gatherings with friends, it has allowed us to maintain a sense of connection. We may be burned out from it, but we also must be grateful to have these tools available to us.

Another thing that comes to sight is the walls surrounding me. The luxury have having a roof over my head, the heat running to keep me warm, the lights are on and the electricity is flowing through my house. I know it sounds cliché, but I often overlook the fact that I do have these things available to me and there are so many people out there struggling and wishing that they had a small portion of these luxuries.

Many of you have seen a side of me that I don’t like. I know that it is a problem and I’m working on bettering myself. The family that the Kean University Writing Program has been a blessing in disguise. There are so many of you that are supportive of one another and makes the struggles, that much easier to deal with. It is an honor to be a part of this program and make so many new friends. I will not name names, but there are several of you that have personally reached out to me and even though I’ve stated it before, I’m extremely grateful for each of you.

So to wrap this post up, I want to list a few other things that I’m grateful for this year. In addition to the things I have already mentioned, let me add the fact that I am here, another day vertical and breathing. Even though my health is not the best it has been, I know that it could be a lot worse. I’m grateful that my father has been cleared and is now negative from COVID-19. Many of us, including myself, have lost loved ones to this disease, and it has made it hard for us to live our daily lives without them, but know that life continues on. We must cherish our memories that we have of them and live life to its fullest. Share their memory with others, you will know when the time is right. Trust me. This year has been tough on us all, emotionally, mentally and physically. I’ve been blessed with another year from both of my fur-babies, and they keep me on my feet.

Thank you to all that have read this far in my ranting for the week. Hopefully, you too have took the time to look around you and observe things that you use daily that others don’t have the opportunity to. Let’s make a pact. If you do not currently write a daily or weekly journal, I encourage you to do so. It has helped me in so many ways, but in that journal, let’s write one thing, each entry, that we have to be thankful for. I bet it will change our perspective in more ways than one.