The Goddess thinks that periodically we should spend some time thinking about our lives.  You know, counting our blessings and most of us have at least something to feel blessed about.  She has The Latin Lover, The Three Beings, their wives and lovers and all of you who bear with her ramblings and read this blog every now and again.  It’s too easy to focus on these unexpected curve balls that come our way.  And we all have them from time to time.  This year The Goddess is trying to spend more time just being thankful for what we have.  Because we have so, so, so much to be thankful for; and too much “stuff”.  You may remember, The Goddess is shoveling out their New England home, downsizing by about half and she’s finding that she has acquired way too much “stuff” over the years.  Seriously, does anyone really need to have boxes of cooking and craft magazines that have been dragged around for 25 years?  Understand that these are well-traveled magazines, as they have been to Puerto Rico, Canada (twice), Brazil and Connecticut.  What kind of crazy person does this?  So, she’s pretty pleased to tell you that she no longer has these.  They have left her life for good.  And it feels good.  This “stuff” has many memories attached to it, and because these memories are good, they have proven difficult to let go of.  But, alas, the dent is large and there is an end in sight.  And she is thankful.

This year we will give thanks for health.  Without health, everything else is completely unimportant.  We will give thanks for the time we spend with those we love and who love us, be they family or dear, dear friends (both near and far).  We will give thanks for employment, because there are too many who have no job or are under-employed.  We will give thanks for the abundance on our table, when there are those who are less fortunate and count their blessings when dining at a soup kitchen.  We thank those people who are selfless and kind enough to volunteer to serve those without, while we are enjoying what we have.  They are special, special people and we need more of them in the world.  We will be thankful for the roof over our head and the floor beneath our feet, for that means we have a place to call “home”.  We will be grateful to be alive when there are too many who have perished needlessly and violently.  We will pray for them.  These days I would imagine that God has thrown her hands up in sheer bewilderment as to how we can wreck such havoc on each other.  I know I would have.

But, The Goddess has hope.  She hopes to be more thoughtful of others; less hurtful and less selfish.  She hopes to be more forgiving of transgressions, real or imagined.  She hopes to embrace the changes in her life with a bear hug.  This move, that The Latin Lover and The Goddess are embarking on, is good in many ways, but has proven more difficult than first imagined.  Leaving, or letting go, of her stuff has been both difficult and liberating.  But she is also leaving, perhaps the most important parts of her life—the people around her.  But, alas just as she was saddened by the impending departure, she had an epiphany of sorts.  She remembered why change is good.  If she hadn’t changed her address from time to time, she wouldn’t have encountered the people who are near and dear to her…you all know who you are.

And for all of you, she is supremely thankful.  Have a Happy, Healthy and Abundant Thanksgiving!  Just this once, have a second piece of pie (and don’t skimp on the whipped cream)!