Here we are just a few days before Thanksgiving, and I can’t believe how quickly the past year has flown by. So much has happened in our family in those twelve months, and we have so much for which to be thankful. Considering the difficult economic times, we have been especially blessed this year. I believe that times such as these, while trying and frightening, also provide us with the chance to tap into our best qualities and more clearly see the gifts we are given, both the large and the seemingly insignificant.

Exactly a year ago we believed we finally had a buyer for our home in Washington, and Harry and I spent all of Thanksgiving week packing up the rest of our belongings there. We missed spending the holiday with our families, but our (now former) neighbors welcomed us in joining their family for the big meal. We continue to miss them and all our friends up north, but we are so thankful for their presence in our lives and all the support they gave us and the good times we shared. And we truly rejoiced when the sale closed in mid-December.

Shortly after the new year, our older daughter lost her job, part of the ten percent of the workforce in her company that was laid off. Thankfully, her husband was in no danger of losing his position or their health insurance benefits, and Sarah hustled up contract work quickly enough that she never qualified for unemployment benefits. She’s now working full time while maintaining some of those contract jobs for additional income. We are thankful for that work and for Sarah’s upbeat attitude, intelligence and work ethic that saw her through a difficult time.

Harry and I are grateful for our own jobs, too. Education and publishing and the travel industry have all really felt the pinch of the times this past year. I am especially lucky to work for and with bright, hard-working people of integrity. I’m grateful that they also know how to employ humor and positive encouragement when the going gets difficult and the hours long.

Daughter Jenny faced another foot surgery this past summer, and though she hated how it kept her away from work and out of commission for weeks, she now is fully mobile and pain free. Her healing is an enormous relief and blessing. We are thankful for wise doctors and access to the latest tests and techniques, and we are so grateful for having an insurance plan that helps us pay for them.

The ache of letting go of our former home has been eased as we purchased and settled in to our new one. We truly feel blessed to have this place, and I make note of even the small pleasures: the goldfinches that splash in the birdbath outside the dining room window, the view of Mt. McLoughlin from the front porch, a cozy fire as the evenings grow chill.

I’ve also been fortunate this year in taking in some of the wide world. In March Harry and I visited New York City and also got to meet my Global Traveler compatriots face to face for the first time. My sisters and I enjoyed two weeks in the Mediterranean in May; how fantastic to have that time with them and see such beautiful places and meet so many fascinating people. In June and then again in October I visited my girls in Chicago — what a great city that is, and each visit allows me to experience something new. 

This Thanksgiving we will be celebrating with family, settled in our new home and finding challenges and worth in work. It won’t be hard to find cause to give thanks, and I hope the same will be true for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader