As my favorite holiday approaches, and in light of recent personal events, I want to take a moment to compile a list of the things for which I'm eternally thankful. These are listed in no particular order.
1. That I grew up in the 1970's and 1980's. I'm so glad that I was a child before this age of cell phones and tablets and virtual reality. I'll take the actual reality, thank you very much.
2. That, when I watched television, there were only three channels from which to choose. It taught me to appreciate the simple fact that I had a TV to watch at all. I learned to patiently wait for whatever program I wanted to see to actually be on, and I learned to stick with something until it was finished instead of needing to flip ceaselessly through hundreds of channels trying to find something to watch while avoiding commercials.
3. That I developed a love of reading at an early age and continued to nurture it as I grew. Nothing satisfies the way a good book does. I'm never bored. I always have a great companion with me no matter where I go, and I've never stopped learning and expanding my horizons.
4. That I had, and still have, parents who instilled in me that right is right and wrong is wrong. Parents who simply expect their kids to do the right thing because it's the right thing no matter if it's what the kid wants to do are almost non-existent anymore it seems. I'm slowly -- oh, so slowly -- seeing a return to that way of thinking, but it's been a long time coming. If I had thrown myself on the ground and had a temper tantrum just because something didn't go my way at home or in public, my parents would have let me know, in no uncertain terms, that that wasn't acceptable. Now, the parents just cave to whatever idiotic demand their "precious" little baby wants because they seem to fear those tantrums more than the consequences of letting their baby grow into an adult who believes the world revolves around him. The "entitlement" craze has reached new levels of outlandishness, and I'm so damn tired of it.
5. That I grew up respecting my elders. Even though I'm pretty solidly one of those elders now, there are still a number of adults who are older than I am, and I extend to them the respect that is befitting of their experience and wisdom. Way too often now I witness young people sassing their elders, making fun of them, and simply ignoring them because, often to young people, the old people are seen as useless and even stupid because they are "out-of'the-loop." Any moment of disrespect to one of your elders is one moment too many in my opinion.
6. That I grew up appreciating the sacrifices of our military. My father served 20 years in the Air Force, so it was just a part of life for me to believe that the military was an important part of my world, but any American with even an ounce of common sense should be able to see that. I'm beyond tired of the people kneeling during the anthem, burning flags. protesting at the funerals of fallen servicemen and women, protesting about how they are mistreated, etc. We wouldn't have this country if people hadn't fought for it, we wouldn't have kept our freedom if people weren't willing to keep fighting for it, and a whole lot of other cultures owe a debt of gratitude to our military forces for stepping in when nobody else would. Are there flaws in our country and in our military even? Hell yes; because nobody and nothing is perfect. Deal with it. Put your damn hand over your damn heart, stand up, shut up, and show some respect. Consider yourself really fucking lucky to live in this country.
7. That I've learned and mastered a second language. Being able to converse and read and understand Spanish has opened parts of the world to me that otherwise would have been shut. I've gained the very best friend in the whole wide world, and if I hadn't learned Spanish and then taught it, I never would have met her at all . I can't even imagine my life without her in it, and I can't imagine a boring mono-lingual life either. I wish I knew more languages actually, so even more experiences would be open to me. Thankfully, I still have the capacity to learn more if I want, or should I say, when I can find the time to work that in. I do know a little Italian, and I would like to master that language next because Italy is such a fascinating country, and I want to have an extended stay there someday.
8. That I learned to ride a motorcycle at a young age. I've been able to take up riding in my middle age because I never forgot how to ride even though I was without a motorcycle for over twenty years. My Harley has taken me places I couldn't have imagined, and it led me to a great guy who also has a passion for riding motorcycles.
9. That I have two great kids. I never thought I'd be a good mom, but I know I am, and I've raised two fine kids. One is a role model for young people, and he's showing them to work hard for what they want instead of just sitting back waiting for it to be handed to you. The other is an aspiring scientist who is good to animals, the creatures who often need our help the most.
10. That I'm self-motivated. You don't have to coerce me into doing my work by promising me things. I'm never bored because I can always find something productive or meaningful to do -- remember that I always have a book on me or a word puzzle I can solve if I'm caught with idle time. I've written a novel that I self-published, and I've written a couple others that will be out in the near future, and I'm working on others. I convinced an editor to let me write a bi-monthly column. I turn lesson plans in on time every week. I clean my house even though I hate doing housework. I create flag routines, direct plays, find scripts for speech students, start and finish cross-stitch pieces, write blog posts that few people read simply because I'm motivated to write something every day, read numerous books throughout the year, paint rooms in my house, do yoga every morning, and many other things for the sake of self-improvement. I've always been that way -- well, perhaps my mom had to yell at me a little to get me to clean my room, but she never had to yell at me to do my homework, to study for tests, to go to work, to finish what I started, etc. If only more young people today were self-motivated the world would be a better place.
I'm thankful I'm me and not a bratty little kid who screams and carries on because he didn't get his way. I'm thankful I'm me and not a starving or homeless person living on the streets or in a war-torn and ravaged country. I'm thankful I'm me now and not me a few years ago when I was still married to a very horrible person. I'm thankful I'm me and not a person who cannot or who will not learn and read everyday. I'm thankful I'm me with a good family to support me and not a person who doesn't have a family at all. I'm thankful I'm me and not a person who refuses to open her mind to learning and using a second language. I'm thankful I'm me living in the heartland and not a person living in the inner-city amid gang fights and the like. I could go on and on because there is just so much to be thankful for. One final thing is that I'm thankful I get to spend another Thanksgiving with the people I love, and I only wish that a few more could join us.
To those who won't stop and consider all they have because they are too fixated upon what they don't have, I say "Shtick this!"
