Thanksgiving

I am hosting a party today, something I love to do. I come alive when company comes over, when I am surrounding by laughter and talking, but the smells and sights and sounds in the kitchen. Today is a combination Thanksgiving dinner, a holiday which comes one month earlier here in Canada than it does in the USA, leading to untold confusion for my friends below the border, and a wine bottling party. One activity neither precludes nor includes the other; it was just convenient to do them both on the same day.

Preparing for a party has become a much bigger challenge for me than in years past. Almost everything is more difficult; some things have become impossible altogether. Still, this morning I made turkey stuffing, stuffed the bird and got it going in the oven. Since then I've gotten out wine bottles and started cleaning them in preparation for tonight.

Thankfully, a few of my friends are coming over early to help with the rest of the food preparation. Brad will be here in a few minutes and Karin is coming over later on. Brad will help with the wine bottles and then with the cooking. Karin will pitch in once she gets here. With their help, I will be ready. Of course I am not supplying all the food. Everyone else who attends will be bringing something as well. That's one of the great things about my friends; they all show up with a willingness to help, a willingness to contribute, and a big appetite. I love it!

It's not just my friends that I am thankful for today. I have so much to be thankful for, so many people around me that make my life worth living, that keep me wanting to go on. I am thankful for my parents. for my Mom and Step-Dad Ray; and I am thankful for my Dad who passed away in 2010. I am thankful for my brothers, Adam, Peter, Jim and Matthew, and my step-brother Michael. I am thankful for my step-sisters Laura, Erin who passed away the same week I was diagnosed, Susan, Rebecca, and Lisa, and for my half-sister Sarah. I have a complicated family, and I am grateful for the impact they have all had on my life.

I am thankful for my children, the most blessed outcome from my marriage. I love each and every one of them, just as they are, where they are, and for who they are. Mary, Meaghan, Kate and Rick are the most important things in my life. I am grateful for each moment I hear their voices, read their emails, see their posts online. I am thankful for my grandchildren, Charlotte, Rose and little Quinn.

You see, I have a lot to be thankful and grateful for. It would be so easy to become bitter in my situation, to see only the bleak future that awaits me, forgetting about all that is around me today. I am thankful that I am not built that way, that I can remember how much good there is around me, to treasure all that life has to offer. I live a life of thanksgiving, and I thank you all.