I’m Just Thankful to Be Thankful

By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Lots of good reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving:

One. Pumpkin pie. What a great way to get your vegetables.

Two.  Stuffing! Stuffing alone would make the Thanksgiving Day meal my favorite of the year.

Three. A dishwasher and no-iron tablecloths. This could be 1945, mind you, and on Friday I’d be spending the entire day washing dishes by hand and pounding my (steamless) iron into my wrinkled linen tablecloth.

Four. Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith. My book is out there at last. And a fellow religion writer, Don Lattin (Distilled Spirits, The Harvard Psychedelic Club), has written the foreword. Thank you, Don. And thank you, Patheos Press and Kathleen Mulhern, my astute editor, for believing in me.

Five. For the First Amendment and the 71 journalists — yes, 71 — who died around the world last year in the line of duty. That includes three in Mexico, four in Somalia, six in Ukraine, seven in Palestine, and 15 in Syria. And that’s just the 71 we know about.

Six. Friends and family. So many people have loved me over the years. Some of them are alive today, some not.

Seven. You. Yes, you dear reader. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t get to chatter away every week, happy in the knowledge that somebody, somewhere is taking me seriously.

Eight. Whoever/whatever created me and has thereby made it possible for me to feel the lovely gratitude I’m feeling right now. I’m thankful to have the wherewithal to be thankful.

Nine. Seconds on pumpkin pie and stuffing. Thirds, if no one is looking.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like “They’re Atheists, They’re Proud, and They’ve Got a Lot of Cool Bumper Stickers.”  Writers might enjoy this from author and Episcopal priest Lauren Winner: “Seven Pithy Writing Tips From a Best-Selling Memoirist.”