T'was the Night Before Thanksgiving...

and outside the house, the snow is roaring, burying a mouse... Okay, so I'm not a poet. Hey, the Packers are on tomorrow, we're 9 and 1, life is good. We're playing the Lions - in their den. I don't expect it to be easy, but at the end of the day, I expect a Packers victory. It's a blizzard out there, folks, with the wind howling like a banshee out of the northwest and rattling the windows, tearing branches off the trees, 1 to 3 inches of the wet sticky stuff are expected by morning, so shortly I'm going to head downstairs and settle down in front of the fireplace with a good book. Ahhhhh. I don't know if I'll be online tomorrow. In the morning I'll be making my whipped sweet potatoes for a get-together with some of the family later in the afternoon, and settling in to watch the Packers on t.v. at 11:30 a.m. In the afternoon at my sister Debbie's place I'll be circulating among kitchen, living room and rec room, helping get the meal together, socializing with relatives, and watching whatever football game is on at 2:30 p.m. and yelling and screaming at the big screen TV with assorted nephews and brothers-in-law. So, I'll say it now. I truly appreciating how much I have to be thankful for. A snug roof over my head with central heat (and central air in the summer) that turns on automatically, a fireplace that works and uncensored books that I can buy for myself - or borrow for free from the local public library. A warm blanket to snuggle in as I settle in before the fire on a plush sofa. Electricity upon demand to provide my reading light - by a compact fluorescent bulb. Later tonight, a cushy bed with featherbed beneath and ultra-plush blankets above. Hot and cold running water to scrub up in and, hey, clean water to drink and cook in that won't give me dysentery. A refrigerator full of non-spoiled, edible food. Money in the bank. A beautiful complexion that is 15 years younger than my chronological age. And who cares about that anyway? All those old rules from the time of my grandmothers - and even my mother - have been overturned. Today, 60 is the new 40 - hmmm, actually, today I think 60 is the new 30... Tomorrow I'll meet with family and enjoy love, warmth, companionship, comfort, comradery. Ohmygoddess, I'm really blessed. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.