What Are You Thankful For?

Fitting comic metaphor for the state of our country this Thanksgiving.

What I am thankful for, after the past year of drama?

First on my list, is the fact that I will see my grandson this Christmas, and he will be home for a week. Although he is staying at the moment in Chicago, let's be clear that he calls where his mom lives "home."

Second, I am thankful for being gainfully employed, and our prospects for the future do not have "closure" of our firm as an option. So, I will not be joining the ranks of the unemployed in the near future. Very much thankful for that.

Third, I am thankful that I earn sufficiently to have a roof over my head and put food on the table. With the rate of poverty, homelessness and hunger at an all time high in this country, which weighs heavy on my heart, I am thankful that I am capable of taking care of myself and my family.

Fourth, I am thankful that I can help others through my non profit charity, Santa's Elves. Although initially envisioned to help underprivileged families by providing them with refurbished electronics, we as an organization have shifted to providing this equipment to shelters. I have an abundance of cell phones that we will be donating to women's shelters, as obviously, the first thing the abusive partner takes away from the woman is her ability to communicate. These phones when we clean them up (remove old SIM cards, delete memories, check batteries, etc.) are a gateway for the women to contact loved ones and not feel so alone. In addition, we refurbish DVD players, sound systems (Ipods and other CD players) televisions, computers (laptops and PC's). All of these products are helpful to those operating all the various types of shelters in Los Angeles, from domestic abuse and family shelters, to homeless shelters. People are generous with food, clothes and toys at Christmas time, but there is a dramatic need for cell phones, computers, televisions and other assorted electronics to assist not only the shelters in their day-to-day business, but also to be used as learning tools for those needing to acquire skills, i.e. computer! I am proud to have thought of this idea, and am thankful for my partners in this venture, and that we can give back to the community in this fashion.

I am thankful for my belief in God. Without that, I do not think, given what I have gone through this past year, coupled with the direction the world is going, (and my age), I would feel like "waking" up every day. Without faith and belief, what else is left in today's world?

Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for my family and friends. Family have been supportive in the dispute over my grandson such that the days of constant crying are almost a distant memory. I am thankful that I had a wonderful eight and one-half years to become very close to my grandson, such that nothing that occurs in Chicago will have any impact on my relationship with him. I am thankful for my daughter's success at school, and her drive to be a better person. It has manifested itself in better communication between us, and our ability to actually be in the same room for longer than 15 minutes without fighting (LOL, but true!)

I hope that each and every one of you who read my blog have a truly drama free Thanksgiving day today, and take the time out to appreciate what you have.