giving thanks

It's Canadian Thanksgiving and while my mom's turkey, mashed potato and all the fixings dinner is on the brain, so too is the need to give thanks for a couple of amazing people.

My life is pretty simple; I have a 9-5 job, after which I come home to make dinner for us or run off to the studio to teach.  B and I hang out, watch TV, think about house projects and yard projects.  I read, I study, I play with the dogs.  Weekends mostly consist of catching up on things like groceries, housework, meal plans, maybe a dinner out at one of our favourite restaurants or at a friend's.   Sometimes pure laziness ensues and we spend a day doing a whole lot of not very much, drinking lots of coffee.

And then there's Sunday evening; my favourite night of the week.  Almost every Sunday evening you will find us at my parents house.  They live a 10 minute walk away.  Some would say that's too close; I wouldn't have it any other way.  At this time of year, there's football, the rest of the year hockey so a good portion of Sunday evenings is spent yelling at the TV (we unfortunately don't root for the superstar teams of the leagues...but that's another story).  Dinner is always delightful, the conversation wildly varied and often colourful.  Dad and I live for debating (something to do with both of us being opinionated Aquarians no doubt) while mom and B shake their heads and retreat to their iphones or another room until we've exhausted all arguments.  And when all is said and done, we head home and get ready for another work week.

Not glamorous and it's pretty simple, but it's a life filled with things and people to be grateful for.  More than anything, I'm grateful for my amazing parents; parents who have taught me to recognize the great things and people in life; to be thankful for 15 minutes with someone, when I would have liked an afternoon;  to not sweat the small stuff (not quite there yet); to not make life about money; to take risks (yes dad, small ones that are not life threatening); to have compassion; to be patient (still have a LOT of work to do here); and quite simply to just enjoy the ride that life is.

Mom and Dad - you're awesome.  Everyone who knows you knows it and you should too.  I love you.

I'll be over to mash potatoes in a few hours.