Taking Pause to Give Thanks

2009 is almost over? Are you kidding? It seems like just yesterday that the young Illinois Senator, Barak Obama, was wearing on the nerves of his new Secret Service detail as he walked alongside his presidential limousine. Yet, as I check my calendar for the third time today, I realize that indeed the sun is poised to bring a new dawn as it welcomes in 2010.

This week brings many fond memories of Thanksgivings gone by. Times when family members I had never met, or at least I didn't know their names, would gather together over tables of turkey, ham and innumerable side dishes. The sound of electric knives slicing through moist turkey followed soon after by that of my uncle's snoring somewhere in the corner.

Yet Thanksgiving is not entirely about my own immediate past. To begin contemplating upon my thankfulness I stop first upon the day itself. While I could trace this special day far back into the history of this proud nation, I pause and give thanks that I live in a sovereign land that officially sets aside a special day to contemplate and give thanks regardless of gender, orientation or creed. In fact, the opportunity to be thankful is in itself the precious gift of millions of men and women who sacrificed much, if not all, for the chance to be thankful.

Continuing down the path of thanksgiving, it is in times such as we have experienced in these past twelve short months that I am more thankful than ever for family, friends, a home and a secure job to help support it all. There are just too many people around us today who may not be fortunate enough to share in those same blessings. I could continue down the path of thanksgiving for many pages, but will close with the final item of thanks. That I have been able to share in the lives of my wife and children and they in mine and that there continues to remain hope for tomorrow, and another Thanksgiving Day.

At the end of the day, I am simply thankful for being thankful.