November=Thanksgiving

I do not relish our American Thanksgiving for the sole fact that my household is torn between four families all wanting us to "join them for dinner." It is insane to eat several Thanksgiving meals on one day! Insane! Even when I could gorge myself (which I can no longer do thanks to weight loss surgery) I couldn't understand why the EAT EAT EAT mentality pervades the Thanksgiving Holiday.

I love spending time with my mother and step-father, father and step-mother, my wonderful cousins on my dad's side, my husband's family members and my step-father's family---but not all of them on the same day! This year, I'm thinking we have a dinner at noon, a dinner at 3 and a dinner at 7. I'm afraid to check to confirm this, however!

Food should not be the focus of Thanksgiving. But alas, for many it is. Food=love is a mindset that I appreciate, fear and embrace all at the same time.

That said, I'm going to celebrate Thanksgiving my way, right here.

Thanks giving. Giving thanks. Showing Appreciation. It starts with your attitude. One of my favorite quotes from Ikedaquotes.org is:

When your determination changes, everything will begin to move in the direction you desire. The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success. On the other hand, if you think, “This is never going to work out,” then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight. Then everything really will move in the direction of failure.

Welcome to Darragha's Thanksgiving dinner table. We're all going to take a turn, in fine holiday tradition, sharing those things in our lives for which we are thankful. The day after Thanksgiving, I'll draw one winner from the posting thankful to receive a lovely prize--but I need to check with an artist friend of mine first to make sure she can have "the lovely prize" ready by then. If not, I'll provide a reasonable facsimile.

I get to go first!

• I appreciate my sufferings as they propel me forward;
• I appreciate my parents, for they gave me the gift of life--twice! (My parents and step-parents paid for my weight-loss surgery);
• I appreciate my loving husband and daughter--even when they're making me crazy;
• I appreciate having a day job. It is a daily source of inspiration for my career as a novelist;
• I appreciate every twist, turn, corner and dead-end in my personal labyrinth. I am blazing my own way through it!
• I appreciate my readers, without whom my characters would surely starve;

Your turn!

Darr :)