What is ONE thing you are thankful for?

[mspete]

I thought this might be a good place to list ONE thing that each of us is thankful for. I know there are so many that this will be difficult, but try to think of one thing "outside the box" that you are thankful for or one thing that brings you joy.

Mine may seem somewhat odd (but then I am an odd sort of person).

When I get ice and water from the dispenser on the refrigerator, I often think how fortunate and thankful we are to have clean water, and cold too!

When the dispenser is activated a light comes on, ice is put into a glass, then the water is dispensed. The light shining through the ice and water are beautiful! I can't imagine not having access to a clean, drinkable glass of water.

Oh well, just the musings of an old lady!

[MadClikr]

Skipping the usual of friends, family, my health... I am thankful for my digital camera - it lets me take photos no matter where I am, and share them with friends and family a world away. It helps me preserve memories, and share the way I see the world with others. The pictures which I take can then be printed into photo books to give as gifts to those who have been recently married, graduated, or simply tagged along on a wonderful vacation. I think I'd be lost without it!

[ssiankie]

I have enjoyed my magellan gps. No matter where I go, I can always say Magellan....HOME. LOL I thankfully don't get lost.

[MadClikr]

I have a Garmin, but do the exact same thing! Sometimes I'll go out wandering somewhere new, and if I get lost, I can always just hit the "Home" button! How nice it is to have the freedom to get lost somewhere new, while still having the security of finding your way home again!

[MadClikr]

Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, I thought this might be a good time to revive this thread. There's so much to be thankful for, and only a couple of weeks until the holiday festivities officially begin!

Recently, I have been extremely grateful for my job. When so many around me are loosing their jobs, and even their homes, I'm thankful that I have enough work to keep me busy, productive, and frankly, financed!

[Trudy in Illinois]

The usual, as stated previously, is family, friends, and good health; however, I'm thankful for my computer and the internet. I have met so many interesting people, who are now dear friends, and I've never laid eyes on them. We talk on the telephone and on-line. If it hadn't been for the internet, I'd have not found my 2 best friends from high school whom I'd been looking for. It was 46 years for one and 36 years for the other. I shared my story with y'all.

Here is a true story which happened to me when I was a teenager. I hope you like it.
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The first time I ever fixed a Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be a number 1 disaster. No one told me the 12 pound bird needed to be defrosted for a few days in the refrigerator. So I wrapped it in foil and baked it at 450 for as long as I thought is should cook. The mashed potatoes were lumpy and I'd added too much milk. They were more like mashed potato stew. I got the wrong kind of cranberry stuff instead of the usual gel. The green beans got overdone, more like cremated. I took off the top what wasn't burned, and spooned through the rest retrieving the lesser burned ones and stirred them through the others. The gravy was VERY thick---sliceable comes to mind. The pie's bottom crust didn't get completely cooked and the whipped cream was two molecules from being sour.

I served it anyway apologizing to my family. They kept smiling and serving the dishes. Every one ate, but not as much as they usually did. At the end of the meal, Daddy told us he felt we needed to have another prayer of thanksgiving. "Oh Lord, we come before you with almost satiated stomachs. We thank you for Trudy's unselfish efforts to make this meal. We ask you to bless her and help her learn how to prepare a turkey and the other items she stumbled on. And, most of all, we are thankful this won't happen again. Amen." Daddy was grinning from ear to ear, Mother couldn't stop shaking her head, my bother and sister had their napkins over their faces and stuffed in their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. I sat their thinking and planning, trying to figure out if he really meant the prayer or not.

[MadClikr]

lol Trudy, what a hoot!

[mspete]

Trudy's experience reminds me of the first meal I tried to prepare when DH and I were newly weds. It was to truly be a feast - Chef Boy Ardee canned spaghetti! I put it in a "pyrex bowl" to heat over a gas burner. DH (even tho he does not cook) said he did not think you could use that kind of dish on the stovetop. I assured him that you could. Well - guess what? You can't! The bowl broke and the contents ran down in the stove. What a mess. When I finally got something heated, I placed the bowl on the drop leaf table. Unfortunately I set it on the "seam" and the leaf was not securely in place. The leaf folded down and the contents fell on the floor and splattered everywhere! By this time I was in tears and I'm sure DH was wondering what he had gotten himself into. Fortunately things got better and we have now celebrated our golden anniversary. We have survived many mishaps and managed not to become malnourished.

Trudy it sounds as if your Dad was a joy to know!

[klsorenson]

mspete, your story reminds me of a similar experience. A friend of mine was fixing dinner one evening for us. I came into the kitchen to find him fixing gravy in a square Pyrex baking dish on the stove. I said "I didn't think you could use Pyrex on the stove top". What I was thinking was "you CAN'T use it on the stove", but didn't say it that way. He said "Why not?" Shortly after, it exploded and the gravy was everywhere. I said something like "that's why". We laughed, cleaned up the mess, and ate the meal without the gravy. What a bummer as the gravy looked really good.

I am going to say I am most thankful for my health. I feel like I am very healthy and hope it keeps me from getting the H1NI flu. Seems that is what I hear most about in the news anymore.