Today is Thanksgiving, an American holiday where people stop their busy lives and gather with friends and family to reflect on all of the blessings in our lives. Most Thanksgiving celebrations focus on some kind of food feast, that is shared together. The typical American Thanksgiving meal features a turkey as the main attraction, with an assortment of side dishes and desserts. It is most often a day when people over eat and wind up falling asleep after the huge meal.

Also very American about the Thanksgiving holiday is football. The holiday has morphed into an all day football frenzy, with professional football games starting at 12:30pm and lasting almost till midnight. Just in time for people to get some sleep, before they go shopping on what is America’s biggest shopping day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday, and millions of bleary-eyed and sleepy people line up in stores and battle each other to find the best discounts on toys and electronics.

It may very well be “Bleak Black Friday” for the many, many people who are unemployed this holiday season, and who are struggling to remember the blessings in their lives. A lot of people may not feel they have very much to be thankful for. It can be hard to realize the good things in our lives when faced with so many overwhelming challenges.

So for today’s post, I want to simply list the things I am thankful for, and the good things in my life, even at a time of deep personal transition.

• my health
• family – especially my sisters who I am finally getting close with
• good friends who love me unconditionally
• liking myself as I am
• a job that I am good at and like
• my ability to communicate well
• things I enjoy – writing, reading, poetry, art, music, connecting with people
• that I can use my talents to help others
• that I have come to realize that stuttering makes me unique and special
• all the great people I have met because of stuttering
• that all people are innately good – we just have to be more patient with some people
• living in a country that values freedom and my ability to freely express myself
• traveling to different parts of the country because of stuttering
• a diverse world that gets smaller every day
• that I am an emotional and sensitive person and can let others see that
• finding joy in simple things

What are you thankful for? Please share here . . . . . . a word, five words, a sentence, a paragraph, whatever . . . . . . .