WHAT DOES THANKSGIVING MEAN TO YOU?

With the coming of the Thanksgiving Day holiday next week, I have been pleasantly surprised at my renewed excitement over the celebration with family and friends this day will bring. But more than that, is my appreciation of what I need to give thanks for and whom I want to say thanks to.

I was born into the cradle of a warm and loving family. A mother who has never let me down and a father who provided me with a safe haven in which to grow. Both parents have always been my biggest fans. I have never once doubted their love. Thank you for everything, Mom and Dad.

It's so true that as we age we often crave the chance to relive the past just one more time. Just for a few minutes may I please sit with my grandmothers, Vera and Dee, my grandpa, Cecil and tell them how much they helped to shape my life and how many important lessons I learned from them. I can still smell the White Shoulders perfume of Grandma Vera, visualize the Scotch Mints and tobacco pouch on the front seat of Grandpa's station wagon and taste the best fudge in the world that was made just by feel in Grandma Dee's kitchen. I could go on and on about my extended family...the mother-in-law who is grace personified, a step-mom who more quickly than I thought possible became a valued friend, the cousin at age 7 who spent his vacation money on a ring just for me and the sister who lovingly supports me in everything I do even when she doesn't believe in it for herself. Thank you to all of them.

Friendships. I could go on and on about them. New ones and old ones. Men and women. Close at hand and far away. The profound effect you have had on me at one time or another. I won't try to address anyone personally out of paralysing fear of missing someone but what I will say is that you inspire me. Some have encouraged me to travel, others have shown me how to listen more carefully and a few have pushed me to write when I feel I have something to say. The intimate friends are the ones who know the truth about me and despite this still stay around. They are my lifeline. Thank you to every friend I have ever had.

You know where I am now headed: you know who I have still to thank. Isn't that what I am supposed to do as a someone who is trying to write something worthy? I need a beginning, a middle and a heartwarming climax just prior to the end. Here it comes. A piece of cake. A walk in the park.

I am so thankful for my precious family. I have two son-in-laws who have become much more than what the words "in-law" implies. They are so very different in who they are as individuals but they are the same when it comes to being honorable. Thank you Devin and Michael for making me feel so secure in the knowledge that my daughters are respected and loved. My own son continues to give me what I crave most and that is laughter. He delights me with his wit and he shares it freely. I love him for his kindness and his drive to be who he thinks he should be. He sees the value in humour, especially when life is not always so kind. Tara has been my confidente and personal therapist for some time now. She knows just what to say to calm me down and she never makes me feel like she doesn't have time to talk. I love her for her good nature and her immense capacity for forgiveness. Jennifer is becoming more and more like me every day despite her best efforts to avoid it. We are now often sharing the same thoughts, feeling similar emotions, wanting the same goals. Go figure, who would have thought? I love her simply because she allows me to. I love her because she is magnificent in her new role. Thank you to my children. I will love you until the end of time.

Now there is Sam. My grandson. The grandson. The Prince. The Holy One. The Gift from God. All of the above. Thank you Sam for giving me a reason to bake burned cookies once again, to sew more ridiculously hideous outfits that you will one day despise just like your mother did and for giving me more hope for the continued happiness of our family than Bob could ever do. I am amazed at the love I have already set aside just for you in this very short time and it keeps on growing bigger, just like you.

I guess that's it. What? There's someone else? Who? Oh, right. Him. The husband. The lord of the manor. The provider. The father of my children. Grandpa to Sam. Graham, thanks for standing by my side throughout thick and thin, rich and poor, happy and sad. There's alot to be said about the realization that while he's no prince, I am most definitely, not the princess. Queen, yes, but not the princess. Thank you Graham for sticking with me despite everything about me that is so obnoxious and totally exhausting...I love you and maybe, just maybe we have made it. I for one, am not going anywhere soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!