Count your blessings (11/24/2008)

Shopping, shopping and more shopping. That is the Christmas tradition. We barely get through the first few weeks in October before we are treated to enticements to begin our holiday spending.

Forget about Thanksgiving. It has become an almost nonexistent holiday as far as retailers are concerned. To that I say, "Thank goodness!"

The last thing we need is another reason to shop. The day was created as a time to express gratitude for all we have been given. It is a time to reconnect with our families and slow down and just stop for a while.

So we pack up the kids and go to whomever is hosting the feast this year. All the cousins sit at the kids' table and flip peas at each other while the adults reminisce about days gone by.

We eat too much then stagger home where we collapse until the next morning when we either go back to work or go shopping.

In the midst of all the celebrating we should stop to think about the many things in our lives we have to be thankful for.

I am thankful for the innocence of little children. It seems my granddaughter was treated to a trip to the zoo recently. They searched the entire zoo but couldn't find a unicorn or a mermaid anywhere! She did think the sea lions were funny and the giraffe was entertaining. I guess a zoo isn't a proper home for such magical creatures as unicorns and mermaids.

We should all be thankful for having warm clothes to wear and food to eat. Someone at work recently asked for donations of winter coats. It seems she knew some people who were in need.

I have mixed feelings about donating used clothing. I think the needy deserve to have new things as much as the rest of us do. But I also think that the coat I donated had some life left in it even though it keeps popping its buttons. It was used when I received it and it is none the worse for wear.

I also have reservations about limiting donations to the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Surely, poverty exists the rest of the year.

I am very grateful that I no longer have to rely on the kindness of strangers. I've been there and hated every minute of it.

I am glad that my Christmas cacti are beginning to bloom. The scarlet and white blossoms always make me smile. They are so beautiful even though their pots are currently perched precariously on top of the treadmill.

I am also grateful for the telephone and the post office. Those are two of the greatest inventions of all time. They rank right up there with indoor plumbing, central heat and the electric stove.

After all the reflecting on things to be thankful for, I will join the hoardes of people buying presents. I enjoy giving things to my family and the best way to do that is to go shopping.

I do miss braving the mall with my daughter. For several years we spent Thanksgiving with her and we always went shopping early on Friday. She would whip into a parking spot right next to an entrance and race through the mall. Few things made me realize my age like struggling to keep up with her.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and take some time to be grateful for all the blessings in your life.[[In-content Ad]]