It's Called Thanksgiving, Not Thankstaking

Happy Thanksgiving, my dear blog monkeys. I'm writing this at my folks' house in Miamuh, OK, where I'm currently trying to recover from stuffing myself with our non-traditional feast of porkchops instead of turkey.

I know I didn't really follow through on the whole "Thankful Thursday" for which I apologize; I suppose I should be thankful I have such a forgiving bunch of blog monkeys huh? Huh?

Anyway, I'd like to take a quick moment to talk about one of the things I am truly thankful for: my parents.


I'm thankful for the way that mom and dad raised me; I am thankful that they did not feel the need to shelter me, but instead trusted in their ability to explain to me what was right and what was wrong, and trusted in my ability to follow their lead.

I'm thankful that they did not try to force me into being a carbon copy of them, that they were willing to accept me for my own likes and dislikes, my own skills and interests.

I'm thankful that they knew when to give me space, and knew when to push; without mom making me join 4-H and TSA, the odds of me actually developing into a full-functioning social being would have been much slimmer.

I'm thankful for the way they allowed me so much freedom as a child, but still managed to give me boundaries; when they said "no," they meant "no," and I knew it. I'm thankful that they treated me like I was a rational being, and yet still allowed me to be a kid; they didn't talk down to me, and didn't coddle me, but didn't overburden me with more responsibilities than I was ready for.

I'm thankful that they've always been so straightforward with me about their past, and their youthful indiscretions, and about the mistakes and stumbles they made along the way to becoming the people they are; I learned from their mistakes, and also learned that even the big mistakes are correctable.

I'm thankful for the example they gave me during our times of trouble, which helped me to realize at an early age that money and possessions do not equal happiness.

Most of all, I'm thankful for growing up in a house that was filled with laughter and love; no matter what all this world may throw at us, we can always relay on that to pull us through.