Thanksgiving…Blue Skies and Short Sleeves (Nov. 26, 2009)

It’s Thanksgiving in San Diego again. It’s 75 degrees. Literally. Thanksgiving traditions here? Short sleeves! Maybe a Hawaiian shirt? A little turkey. Isn’t that how it is everywhere?!

Okay, I exaggerate. This week has been unusually warm for us. I really noticed the effect of the heat when I saw blossoms on a plant I’d been watering for months: Black-eyed Susan, pictured above. So vivid against the blue sky. Plants and flowers always remind me of how good life is, how resilient plants are, and how resilient people can be, too.

Resilience helped people live through treacherous boat journey to America before the first Thanksgiving, so it’s fitting that I’m thinking today about the human ability to endure and to keep trying. Today I am thankful for family, friends, health, freedom, laughter. Probably a hundred other things, but these are foremost on my mind. Am I excited about a wonderful meal that many people will contribute to and enjoy? Absolutely. But I’m also glad that we have this day when we pause from the usual busy-ness of our lives and remember how fortunate we are…

Big Announcement

Here it is. Brace yourself: I may not have anything to say. Yes, my lack of announcement IS my announcement. This may be the first time in 30-some-odd years when I have little to say. (Although are you noticing that I'm using quite a few words, for someone who supposedly has nothing to say? You have a point.)

A friend blogs too, and she recently celebrated a year of blogging. The day she realized she'd posted 131 posts in a year is the day I realized I had exactly 0 posts for the month of October! October was incredibly busy for me, but I was still surprised that I hadn't posted anything that month. Eeek! And it's certainly not a competition regarding who can post the biggest number of blogs. I'll leave the contest to other people. I suppose some months I have a lot to say, and other months I do other things. But even now I feel some pressure inside to make this post Exciting!!!!!! (and I'm not sure that exclamation points alone bring about the desired effect) Maybe I blog only when I'm musing about something in particular.

I'll end this post with a link to a really cute video. This video played a lot on a cable channel for little kids and I loved it so much I hunted it down on YouTube. While the video is intended for kids, the message is one for everyone, and the tune is not babyish. The song is called "Duck 4," although on YouTube you need to click on the title "One Egg Different from the Rest." The lead singer (Leon Thomas) is very talented, and his voice reminds me of Michael Jackson's as a teen. (It seems that everyone who has posted a comment about it on YouTube thinks so, too, so I guess I'm not imagining the comparison!) This song ALWAYS boosts my mood when I'm in a funk, and I thought I'd share the remedy...

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=leon+thomas+iii+Duck+4&search_type=&aq=f