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November 22, 2007
Thankfulness Week - Thanksgiving Day!
It's the big day -- Thanksgiving! (If you're in the U.S., that is. If you're Canadian, Thanksgiving was a while ago, and you're bored of the whole thing by now. Sorry.)
So, what I am thankful for today? PEOPLE! But not just any people. Remember, I'm not too fond of people. No, today I'm talking about very special people. I'm talking about you.
I am thankful that I have The Spouse in my life. He may not know the difference between Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and DVD, but he knows and loves me. (And he'll buy me the DVDs I want on whatever format I very clearly specify for him.) We're in our second decade together, and life is pretty darn good with The Spouse.
I am thankful for our new friends in Vermont. Vermont is, by far, the smallest place either of us has ever lived. It's also got a strong xenophobic streak. (The local paper still refers to people as "native Vermonters," and letters to the editor frequently include the magical incantation: "As a sixth-generation Vermonter..." No joke.) But we've made friends here, and I'm thankful for all of you/them. (I'm not sure that many of them/you read this blog, but if they/you are reading this, they/you rock.
I am thankful for the wee community that exists on and connected-to this blog. That means all of you reading (and I know that there are many of you) this post -- I'm thankful for you. And for those of you who comment regularly, especially my super-bestest-commenter-pals-ever, Coeurlion and Liam, I am thankful that you take the time and have the guts to respond to the stuff I write about here.
And in a related note, I'm thankful for the Northern Vermont blog community. Before I arrived, I got tipped to N Todd's blog Dohiri Mir, which got me hooked on his podcast, which tipped me off to the now sadly-defunct Friday Coffeeblogging podcast of Bill, Flameape, N Todd, and sometimes Cathy. Cathy interviewed me for 7 Days shortly after I arrived, and made fun of the fact that I correctly used the word "slacks" in a complete sentence. And since then, my colleague Philip created a super-popular political blog. But my point is that the blog scene in Vermont is big enough that there's always something to read (and you should read all of these blogs -- seriously), but small enough that you can know some of these people. And I'm thankful for that.
(And hey, Bill, Flameape, N Todd, and Cathy -- if you want to start the Friday coffeeblogging thing back up, I'm all for it. I think it would be awesome.)
I'm thankful for The Spouse's family, which is incredibly welcoming and supportive of us. It's almost like they're... family. Oh, wait. They are family. Anyway, I'm thankful that they're a part of our lives.
I'm thankful for my family, and for the fact that we regularly communicate. It wasn't always thus, and so I'm thankful for the progress we've made.
And finally, I'm thankful for our kitty family, sisters Samantha and Sabrina, who are entering (as gracefully as their rounded contours will allow) their golden years with spunk and personality. Samantha's got epilepsy and irritable bowel syndrome, and Sabrina has arythmic cardiac arrhythmia -- seriously, even her irregular heart beats are irregular. But they're both stable and happy and plump and they love us. Okay, they tolerate us. But that's a lot coming from cat people.
Here's Sabrina looking, as usual, very serious:
And here's Samantha, looking (not exactly as usual) like a vulture:
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving all. I hope you all have as much to be happily thankful for as I do.
UPDATE: The Spouse reminds me that Sabrina Cat has asthma, as well as an irregular heartbeat. It's true. Our cats have weird, "cats-don't-usually-get-these-conditions" conditions. They're unique!
Posted by reparent at November 22, 2007 7:03 PM
Comments
You are most welcome. Thanks for creating this here place for debate and camaraderie, and hurrah for spouses, cats and comrades!
Posted by: Liam at November 23, 2007 7:29 PM
Da!
Posted by: coeurlion at November 23, 2007 7:37 PM
So while the FCB podcast is on semi-permanent hiatus, there's a sort-of spin-off beginning this week called Poli-Sci-Fi Radio that will feature Steve Benen of thecarpetbaggerreport.com and me talking politics and genre fiction (and democratization of media and technology no doubt). It will air LIVE on The Radiator, a new low power FM community radio station in Burlington (105.9 FM - WOMM) on Sunday evenings from 4 to 6 pm. If you don't want to miss Robert Resnick's excellent VPR show, All the Traditions, we plan to podcast the 2-hour radio show as well -- url TBD.
BTW, I'm thankful for your blog. I check it at least once every two days. Someday I'll grow up and start using RSS the way it was meant to be used, until then, I'm clicking through my blogroll.
Posted by: bill simmon at November 24, 2007 1:27 PM