My Thanksgiving

This may seem off topic, and I suppose it is in the direct sense, but I think it's important as a spoonie to take time out now and again to remember the things I'm thankful for, especially on my worst days. Thanksgiving is the time of year, whenever and wherever it's celebrated, that people typically take time out of their day to share what it is they're thankful for. While this isn't a tradition at dinner in my house (owing mainly to two brothers who can't take such things seriously) I've decided to do a blog post instead. 

I'm thankful for my family, first and foremost, who supports and stands by me come what may. We may not always get along with each other, but when the chips are down, we always have each other's backs - and fronts - and we stick together through thick and thin. Words can't describe how much their support has gotten me through, and undoubtedly how much more it will continue to do so. 

My friends, of course, come next. There aren't many that I have in the offline world and those that I do I very rarely see. But those online are as good as gold, and I wouldn't trade a single one of them for a mint of money, because they too have gotten me through so much; many without even knowing it. Posts that make me laugh when all I want to do is cry, posts that inspire when I want to give up, even just a well-timed hello when I'm feeling alone, all of that and more has pulled me through some serious darkness and back into the light again. Thank you. Really and truly, from the bottom of my heart. (Also, thank you for putting up with my random bitch-fests about various aches, pains, and injuries on Twitter LOL.)

The family pets get their own segment - they are, of course, considered family by all of us, but I wanted to give them a specific little paragraph here. We have Pepper (whose name is short for Black Pepper [yeah, I know. We didn't name him.]) who is a Chiweenie - a half-chihuahua, half-dachshund, Turk, the brown and white gerbil, and his brother JD, the silver and white gerbil. Each one of these furred angels has brought special joy and love into my life. 

Pepper has been with us for I believe six years now, come Cinco de Mayo. He is our second dog, his predecessor, also a chiweenie named Bandit, had passed about a year before. His intelligence and unceasing attempts to talk put us in stitches, especially when he manages to actually audibly pronounce words well enough to be understood (not even joking; he's said mama, love you, night night, yes, no, time for school  [what we say when it's time for his training] and several other things - typically in cadenced growls of varying pitches and tones, but the way he uses his tongue and snout to alter the sounds makes him clearly understandable.). The way he understands what we're saying well enough to cut us looks or react in other fashions is usually good for a laugh too. But there's also how he reacts to knowing we're in pain or not feeling well, by lying with us and trying to lick at where we're sore, or snuggling against us and not wanting to budge when we're sick.  That's not to say he doesn't get into his fair share of mischief, especially as he has an apparent fetish for tissues both used and new, but overall he's a well behaved pup full of love and laughs, and he's been a blessing in this house. 

Turk and JD are in a class of their own - as gerbils they're a fair bit different than a dog, as you'd expect. But they're more intelligent than one would think, and watching their antics, whether it's Turk's constant architectural redesign or JD's incessant desire to be running on the wheel (when he isn't eating) and occasionally getting going so fast he does a full revolution on the wheel and flings himself out, they each have their own distinct personalities. They're quite loving creatures in their own way - not only with each other in how they snuggle and groom one another - but with the people in the house as well. They're always happy to see us, often hopping happily up onto their hind legs when they hear a familiar voice and running to stand atop the cabin where we always pet them from, and eager to give us gentle little nibbles on our fingers and snuggling into our hands - though JD still has to learn his own strength with his nibbles from time to time. Their curiosity and eagerness to interact and explore the world and everything in it is fascinating to watch and more often than not amusing, and the trust they put in me when they let me hold them and run along my hands and arms, trusting me not to let them fall, is, quite honestly, breathtaking. 

Next on the list comes my doctors. Without them I don't know where I'd be other than in even more pain than I can imagine and certainly much less mobile than I am now. Their persistence in not only finding treatments that work but testing to diagnose and find out what may or may not be wrong, their perseverance when results are negative and treatments don't work, is incredible. They never give up on me or my broken body. They never stop trying. They never stop working on thinking of new things or alternative therapies or medications that might work as an off-label use. Every now and again, they get a winner, and their genuine joy and satisfaction when I report something actially alleviating symptoms is heartwarming. It renews my faith that they genuinely want me to get better just as much as I do. Even if we all know I may not ever get fully better, we work towards getting me as better as I can be, and I'm reassured in and eternally grateful for the fact I know I'm not alone in that fight. 

Last but most certainly not least, I'm thankful for everything that I have that I know I'm so fortunate to have. A warm home. Food. Clothes. A comfortable bed. Clean drinking water. Books to read and the education to know how to read them. Everything. There are millions on this planet that have so much less than I do. Who are lucky to have even one thing I've listed in this paragraph. I haven't forgotten them this thanksgiving. I don't forget them any day of the year. They are constantly in my thoughts, as cliche as that is to say. I wish I could do more to help beyond what meager donations to charitable organizations I can give. 

After Thanksgiving dinner, many will leave the table to go shopping, some in rather violent altercations, for Black Friday deals. I always found this hypocritical. But I'm not here to chastise or guilt trip those of you that do this, because I know that for some of you, these sales are the only way you can afford to shop for the holidays. 

But I would like to make one request of those of you reading: Shop for them, too, if you can. Toys for Tots and other charitable drives help the less fortunate every year. If you can even manage to donate one thing, you're bringing a child a smile. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you and your families have a very happy Thanksgiving, and blessed, happy holidays thereafter - whatever it is you celebrate.

Jade