1) I’m thankful for rain. California has been in a water shortage mode for the past three years. We have had two small storms so far in November, one more predicted, and I am grateful.
2) I’m grateful for Spouse. Just ‘cause.
3) I’m grateful for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m one of the fearless few who will admit she liked the first season, and liked Skye the first season, but this season is a pulsing white-hot conflagration of secrets, plots twists, betrayals and surprises. Keep it coming!
4) I’m grateful for my car. It’s a good car and it gets about 40 mpg, which keeps me happy regardless of the cost of gasoline at any particular time.
5) I’m grateful for KDFC, a member-supported SF Bay Area based classical radio station. I started listening to them earlier this year, when I got mad at the so-called “alternative” station. I’ve learned so much through KDFC, but mostly I just love the music! Thanks, guys!
6) I’m grateful that through a strange series of unrelated incidents, our guest room now has a TV. It means I’m not trapped watching football when Gotham is on, and I can go watching something intelligent while Spouse is glancing at Sean Hannity’s show on Fox, or something.
7) It has been a rough year for me in many ways, and for many of my friends. Illness and death seemed like closer companions than usual. I am so very grateful for friends and loved ones who lent me their strength during difficult times.
8) I’m grateful for “the dinner session,” a group of people from my old job who meet for dinner about every other month. They are busy people, and I was sure that would move on and leave me behind after I retired. They didn’t. I really appreciate that. Plus, the work stories are even funnier when you don’t have a stake in the outcome.
9) I’m grateful, still, that I live in a county that has more than 40 regional parks. Any day of the week I can go to the redwoods, a river, a lake, an oak forest, a meadow or the ocean and walk a safe, well-marked trail. I can take pictures, I can have picnics, I can meet friends or just absorb the beauty of nature.
10) I’m grateful that after thirty-five years of work, I have a decent pension which not only allows me the basics of life without having to worry about how to meet expenses, it gives me enough leeway to go on trips. I earned the pension, but many people who worked long and hard and earned their pensions have had them stolen or looted by corporate raiders. I am grateful that the public sector won’t let people do that yet.
11) I’m grateful for a group of young people at VOICES drop-in center, who amaze me constantly with their imagination and openness.
12) I’m grateful that I get to work in a bookstore.
13) I am always grateful for the sheer exuberance and joy of domestic canines – yes, once again, I’m grateful for dogs.