Thank you

Thank you November 26, 2015

I don’t want to do that thing where you go around the table and have everybody say what they’re thankful for because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels anxiously put-on-the-spot during that kind of thing.

I have a lot to be grateful for, but that sort of pop-quiz sometimes makes me freeze up and forget to mention two-thirds of what I should. I’m grateful for health and family and home, and for the chance to get a paycheck that lasts most of the way to the next one. I’m grateful for freedoms and rights and dignity, and for whatever justice can be found, and for the chance to participate in trying to expand all of those and to strengthen them so that more people can share in them more fully.

But why be abstract? I’m writing here for the people who read this, so instead of just listing broad, general reasons for gratitude, let me take this chance to say thank you to you — to give thanks for you. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for commenting here — for sharing jokes and encouragement, kitten pics, and the insights and criticisms that help me learn and keep me honest. Thank you for sharing, liking, retweeting and linking. Thank you for reading ebooks and posting reviews. Thank you for donating to the tip jar. Thank you for sticking up for one another, for bearing one another’s burdens, rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn.

Thank you, overall, for being a community that enriches my life, inspires, encourages, and challenges me.

I’ll be sitting down in a bit to eat a fantastic meal with my wife and daughters (and the daughters’ boyfriends, a few other stragglers who couldn’t get home from college, a co-worker whose family is out of town, and whoever else shows up). Then I’ll telephone my dad up in Vermont, where he’s gathering with my sister and her family. And then, after cleaning the dishes and loading all the leftovers into Tupperware, I’ll be back here, on this computer, checking in with some of my favorite people in the world and some of the best friends anyone could hope for, even though most of them are people I’ll never meet face to face.

Thank you is what I’m saying. Thank you.


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