Being thankful

Alone but grateful this year.

This Thanksgiving, I think a lot of us are reflecting more than ever on what we have to be thankful for despite this pandemic that has turned our lives upside down.

Even though my divorce and move to a new state during the pandemic have left me celebrating this year's Thanksgiving alone -- for the first time in 64 years -- I'm exceedingly grateful for family, friends, food, shelter, sunsets, and humor.

My daughter and her five bunnies (my grand bunnies) are far away in Spokane ...

... and my son and his wife are in Madison, WI, but I'm grateful that we can see each other on FaceTime. My siblings and I (who are scattered across the country) will Zoom with our parents on Thanksgiving. I'm grateful they are still with us at almost age 90.

I'm grateful for friends, also scattered across the country, who I'm able to keep in touch with thanks to technology as well as snail mail.

I'm grateful for friends and my daughter who encouraged me to open an Etsy shop this month to sell my art. And I'm grateful to all of those who have bought my art so far, including this quilt below.

And since it's Thanksgiving, I'm also grateful for food! Here is a feast I made for myself earlier this year when I needed something to cheer me up the day the divorce was finalized. If I hadn't moved away from Gig Harbor I would have called an impromptu socially-distanced outdoor party with my friends to share it, but as it was I ate it all by myself.

I'm grateful that I was able to afford this home in Arizona. It was too expensive for me to stay in the Northwest, but since housing here is much more affordable and I crave the desert sunshine, the move to Tucson was a win-win.

The sunsets, sunrises, and scenery around my new home are priceless, and they boost my spirits all day every day!

I'm thankful for my yard guy, who has no idea that I took this picture. He patiently listened to  my panicked call this morning when I discovered a geyser coming up out of my yard that was creating a raging river and flooding the street. It was a break in the irrigation line, which he fixed. Then he showed me how to shut off the system if another leak springs up.

And finally, I'm grateful for humor and the ease with which technology delivers it. Every morning while drinking my coffee, I find humor on Facebook, Instagram and email. Then I get on with my day in a good mood.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving