As Thanksgiving Day approaches, amid the cleaning, the grocery shopping, and the polishing of silver, I am fortunate to be thankful for my health and my family around me. I am very blessed in that way. But after more thinking, I have jotted down some other reasons that I am also truly thankful for this Thanksgiving.
1. Elastic waistband pants. What an invention! Gone are the days of trying to squeeze a zipper shut, especially around big meals such as the one coming up this Thursday. Just drag on a pair of pull-on pants and sit in comfort. Now I no longer have to choose between enjoying a slice of apple or pumpkin pie, in fear of a normal waistband becoming a tourniquet. I can eat both without the customary guilt that goes with over-indulging.
2. My DVR. I don’t know how I watched TV before the advent of the modern-day DVR. Hollywood pulls out all the stops during the holidays and produces special programming for everyone’s taste. How is a woman to choose? Now I don’t have to. I simply cruise through the week on my DVR and record all the holiday shows I want to watch and then play them back at my leisure. “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” airing up against Thanksgiving on “The Middle”? No problem. With a click of my remote sacrifice is a thing of the past.
And what about all of those Hallmark holiday movies? Ones like “Love at the Thanksgiving Parade,” or “The Thanksgiving House”? I got ‘em both! Now I can pop some popcorn (or eat that additional piece of pumpkin pie) and watch to my heart’s content, and to my husband’s discontent, unfortunately. But his viewing pleasure is collateral damage during the months of November and December. After all, isn’t the Super Bowl slowly encroaching on Valentine’s Day every year, and on all of Hallmark’s Valentine’s Day romances? Turnabout is definitely fair play.
3. Black Friday. This is a fairly recent addition to the Thanksgiving weekend, and I view it with some trepidation when it threatens to infringe on my eating pleasure. However, if it is truly on the following Friday, what a godsend! We can eat to our heart’s delight the day before and then get all the exercise we need by shopping the next day! All the muscle groups get a workout when you maneuver in a crowded mall, although legs benefit the most. You can work your biceps by pushing and shoving, but I keep that to a minimum since it’s usually frowned upon.
4. Last, but not least, I am thankful for my car horn. Never one to “flip the bird,” I often use my horn to remind someone of their manners while on the road. The horn is a wonderful invention in that regard, especially at this time of year. We all lead busy lives, so to have one person tailgate or cut me off simply because they think they are busier than me is just not polite. And so I let them know with the melodious tone of my car horn.
I also often find the need to “wake someone up” in front of me on the road. Whether the driver is texting against the law, changing his or her music selection, or simply taking a catnap, they invariably do so when they should be stepping on the gas. A gentle tap of the horn usually is all that is required, although my husband has likened me to a New York cabbie at times. I feel he’s exaggerating.
Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the good in our lives. I look forward to cooking one of the best meals that I will make for all of 2015, for the people I love. And afterwards, I will sit down comfortably in my stretchy pants and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie before heading out on Black Friday to get the perfect gifts. And maybe I’ll tap out “Jingle Bells” on my car horn along the way.
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