Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for the sound of teenagers arguing,

thankful for the pings and yelps of video game playing,

for hugs that come for no reason,

and ears that still listen when I speak.


I am thankful for lazy days,

for times when teenagers remember to play

for when they are too loud, always hungry, and take up all the couch space,

I am thankful for every moment of childhood.



I am thankful for the roof over our head

for the electricity that runs the lights

for a  fireplace turned on by a switch,

for this building distressed by occupancy,

stained carpets,

scratched paint,

broken sliding doors on the closet.




I am thankful for the loyal husband

For integrity that never sways.

For hands that search for income,

and a heart that still hugs it's offspring.


I am thankful for the legacy,

the inheritance of memories,

women who have gone before me

who cooked and carved the yearly turkey.

For our heated arguments that shaped me,

For the wisdom passed on

china chipped and broken,

and the paper trails of history.


I choose
   I choose
      I choose to be thankful.