Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (And for my American readers, if any ... no, you haven't slept away the last seven weeks or so, this is Canadian Thanksgiving, always in advance of yours, second Monday of October).

Have you thought about what you are thankful for this year? I have. We celebrated yesterday, and we have a yearly tradition of going around the table as we start the meal, stating what we are most thankful for. We started this tradition when our daughter was very little. Those of you who know her know how sweet she is. But, she's had her moments over the years. One year, when she was about 4 or so, she was in a major cranky mood on Thanksgiving day and when we went around the table, she said "I'm not thankful for NOTHIN'", which really didn't go over well with us and resulted in what was probably her first and only time out. She wasn't allowed back to the table until she found something to be thankful for. The memory is fading now (too bad I wasn't a scrapbooker back then) but I think she came back the table professing gratitude for her goldfish. Lol!

As for me, well, the last couple of years were kind of rough, and there were times when I did find it hard to think of something to be thankful for (but being me, I always managed to find something). So I guess the first thing I am thankful for this year is that I got through the hard times in the last couple of years and am a better, stronger person as a result. I am thankful that I was able to care for my mother and father during their illnesses. I am thankful for the memories I have of my sister, my mother, my father-in-law and my father. I am thankful for the influence they had on me, for the things I learned from each of them. I am thankful for my husband, my daughter, my son, for the joy, comfort, humour, love and pride they bring to my life. I am thankful for my sisters and my brother, with whom I've grown closer (as always, something good came from something bad). I am thankful for our health, which is so very precious. I am thankful for my friends, who like me are very busy juggling a hundred things on a daily basis, but who make time for me nonetheless. I am thankful for my job, which over the years has taken a life of its own and has become a career. I am thankful for the instructor in a leadership course that I took last June, who helped me realize that I actually deserve to be where I'm at and whose words still help me feel confident on a daily basis.

On the lighter side, I am thankful for shoes (especially my new purple suede ones), lipstick, my new really gorgeous office, my hairdresser Rita, and the fact that I have found my girl gene again after a few years of neglect.

And last, but not necessarily least, I am thankful for scrapbooking. It's a hobby that melts away the stress of daily life. It's a creative outlet which makes me happy. It's a way of preserving memories past, present and future. It's brought a richness and fulness to my life that is hard to explain.

With any luck, I'll find some time over the next few days to capture all of these thoughts in a scrapbook layout, so that years from now, if I find my memories of Thanksgiving 2007 fading, total recall will be only as far away as the shelf in my living room.