Thursday, November 24, 2022

Thank.Full.

I first posted a version of this back in Ott-Eight, a few days after I started this here blog thing, and have edited it, as need be, and reposted it every year … for fourteen years … to remind me of where I was then, what I thought then, and what I wanted out of life. And every year as I repost it, I realize that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Now, not to brag, but I've been told that I am an extremely polite person. I was raised on Please and Thank You, Yes Ma'am, No Sir, and I still act that way today.

True story: I was selected for jury duty when we lived in Miami and when it was my turn to be questioned, I stood up in the very narrow aisle and put my hands behind my back. As I was questioned, I replied Yes sir and No Sir. The judge stopped and smiled.

"Are you in the military?" he asked.

"No, sir" I said. "I was raised by a military man and a Southern woman."

True story: A few years before that, while living in California, I was in a grocery store buying a birthday cake for a co-worker. I asked if I may please order a cake. May I please have a name iced onto it? I pleased and thank you'd my way through the entire process and finally as the girl was leaving to finish my order, she turned and said, “I think you are the politest person I've ever waited on."

I smiled and said, "Could you just shut up, please, and ice my damn cake!"

When all else fails I slip into sarcasm. That's my motto, and I’m thankful for that, too, but I digress.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, probably because there are no gifts involved, except for the gift of time; time spent with loved ones and friends; the gift of thanks. A day of thanks; a truly American holiday, like 4th of July, but one we celebrate not with picnics and beer, firecrackers and sparklers, but with a meal shared with friends and family, and pets, always the pets.

I have so much to be thankful for again this year. Yes, the usual family and friends and health and happiness, blah blah blah, everyone says that, but this year, following the pandemic, good health is a wonderful thing. I am thankful that Carlos and I are fine; we have been pricked and boostered; our families are healthy, well, except for my Thing 45 loving brother who called COVID a hoax, even after he and his whole family tested positive for it, but, again, I digress.

I am thankful to this link around the world I have found with bloggers, where I find people very different from myself, and people very much like myself, and we all co-exist peacefully. I am grateful to our dear Anne Marie and her love for F-bombs and disdain for ABBA, something we shared. I miss her wit and sarcasm and musical Saturdays, but I am thankful for having have them. I also miss her husband, ArTeeGee, who left to join her. I am grateful for the bloggers who still blog and the words and opinions and jokes and Candy Shop photos they share.

And I am thankful, as well as hopeful, that even though America is still mired in hate and division, us versus them, and criminality, there are still spots of decency and inclusion and hope, and that spot of light that appeared earlier this month. Sure, it’s still a bit dark here, but we are all becoming more aware that if we want to change we must make change. I am thankful that we live in a country where we have that freedom.

As a gay man I know all too well that … cue PSA music … It Gets Better.

Twenty-two years ago, when we began this ride, Carlos and I couldn’t be legally married anywhere in America, and here we are now, married for eight years … in South Carolina of all places. I am thankful for that every day and will fight to the death anyone who thinks our marriage can somehow be erased. Carlos and I are husband and husband and that’s how it will stay. That bell cannot be unrung, no matter who says what. No matter who sits on the Supreme Court.

Trust. And be thankful.

I am thankful for the years I had with my sister—I miss her every single day—because of the things she taught me and continues to teach me. I am grateful to her four daughters, all of whom she raised so well that when Carlos and I told them we were getting married, they all responded, “Now he really is our Uncle.”

I am thankful for my Dad. He didn’t ask for a gay son, but he got one; he didn’t know what to do with a gay son, but he did the best he could. And, when the time came to marry Carlos, it made my Dad’s day that he could be there. I wish every gay person could have a Dad like mine, who sees that change is good, and sees that not everyone is alike—even in your own family—but who loves you just the same. I am thankful and grateful that he came through his surgery feeling good and strong and ready to rumble.

I am thankful to my Mom, especially today. Thanksgiving was her holiday; cooking for her family was my mother’s greatest joy and a great gift to all of us. I am thankful that I can keep that tradition alive and can see my Mom in myself as Carlos and I cook dinner for ourselves and friends. I am thankful for her kindness, even to those who were unkind to her; I am grateful for her laughter, which I can still hear in my head, and the way she would say, ‘Bye bye, sweetie, I love you,’ as we ended a phone call.

I am thankful for icy cold mornings and clear blue skies … colored leaves falling. I am thankful for small dogs and cats because, well, I'm bigger than them and I will always beat them ... just channeling a little Joan Crawford and Christina at the pool.

I am thankful for Carlos. Every.Single.Day. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about how lucky I am to have him; even the days when he makes me insane … more insane. I realize I’d rather be driven nuts by him for a moment than not to have him in my life at all. I am thankful for the smirk he gives me; I am thankful for the look of horror on his face when I bust out a showtune; I am just plain thankful. I don’t know where I’d be, or who I’d be, if I hadn’t met him all those years ago.

I am thankful for music and pets and soft blankets and breathing and speaking, and having a voice to use, and use often. I realize we are still facing a tough time in this country; we are still facing division; we are still seeing our Black and Brown brothers and sisters killed by police, and self-entitled crybaby vigilantes; we are still seeing our trans brothers and sisters murdered; we still see hate; we are seeing hatred towards refugees fleeing their homeland to come to a country built by immigrants and slaves.

But I remain hopeful, hope filled, and thankful, that this country, most of this country, will once again stand against that hate and divisiveness; I am thankful that we will stand for one another and not against one another; that we will stand up to those who hate; speak out against those who use fear to intimidate others; resist those who are untruthful. I am thankful that more and more people are standing up for those who may not feel like anyone would ever stand for them.

I am thankful for that … and thinking being feeling loving breathing laughing crying living and speaking.

For Life … and all it encompasses.

To Life.

Thanks.


44 comments:

  1. Your thankfulness overflows the boundaries of this page!
    Thank you and have a blessed Thanksgiving Day! 🍗 ❤

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    1. Thanks Marica, and the same to you!

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  2. Have a wonderful feast day!

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  3. krayolakris9:13 AM

    I’m thankful for you Bob, and your time spent creating your posts. This one snapped me right out of my holiday funk and reminded me there are many things to be thankful for. Hugs to you and Carlos and the fur people.

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    1. It's easy to forget the "little things" in life that we are grateful for, so glad I could help.

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  4. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, please and thank you!

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  5. Happy Thanksgiving Bob!

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    1. Same to you, Jim, enjoy the day!

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  6. And again this year I am thankful for you. Your wit, kindness, enlightenment, and sarcasm make my days better. This post brought tears to me eye. Real tears.

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    1. Thanks Mitchell. Perhaps I should find a way to have blogger dispense tissues????

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  7. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Carlos and the rest of your family

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  8. Jennifer Barlow9:41 AM

    What a beautiful, heartfelt post Bob. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Carlos and all of your dear ones. xx

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    1. Thanks Jennifer, and enjoy your day!

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  9. That's a lovely list of thankfuls, except for the icy cold mornings.

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    1. I don't mind an icy morning as long as I'm inside in warm fuzzy clothes with the heat on!

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  10. I haven't posted previously but have read your posts for a number of months now. This post is touching and hopeful. Thank you.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and Carlos, to your friends and family.

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    1. Well, thanks for reading and thanks for commenting. 👋🏽

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  11. A beautiful post, Bob. Hope you, Carlos, and the fur babies have a lovely day. Take care.

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    1. Thanks Susan, and wishing you the same!

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  12. I have read your blog for years but never commented. I’m thankful for you and your heartfelt post this morning. All my best to you and Carlos and your fur kids. You are appreciated.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for posting! 😊

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  13. Damselfly10:17 AM

    I'm a reader who rarely comments and truly enjoy your blog. This post is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, wit, humor, sarcasm, and life with us. Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours!

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    1. Thanks for reading! 👋🏽

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  14. aussieguy10:25 AM

    A very poignant post and spot on the mark. It forced me out of my funk as I await news from hospice that my 95-year-old aunt who I’ve cared for the past 10 years has finally earned her well-deserved peace. Thank you.

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    1. Safe peaceful travels to your aunt.

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  15. Anonymous10:58 AM

    A big thanksgiving that the Comsos aligned and put Carlos in your life. Otherwise you might have been on the path to becoming a bitter old queen in Carmichael (not that there's anything wrong with that).
    Have a fulfilling Thanksgiving surrounded by your family and the love that sustains you.

    Will Jay

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    1. Oh, I can still be a bitter old queen when the mood strikes! Trust! Happy Thanksgiving Will Jay!

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  16. Anonymous11:03 AM

    Blessings to all of you!!!
    xoxo :-)

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  17. It's healthy to take stock in all we have -- and that goes for any of us. I'm also thankful for our blogging community, and I'm thankful for your pointed political commentary and your pop-culture posts, which never fail to educate me about people I've never heard of! (These young whippersnappers!) :) Have a great holiday!

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    1. It's easy to overlook the things that we are thankful for, especially when we're surrounded by them.
      You enjoy your time away, too, Steve!

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  18. You sir have proved yet one more time that we are all more alike than we are not. Your thank you list could be anyone of ours as well. I know that you love Carlos simply by what you write. And, like you, Robert and I were husbands, are husbands and will always be husbands. Even his death can not unring that bell. And so, I send you and Carlos and the furry ones and all your friends and family the most heart fealt and warm Thanksgiving wish ever.

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    1. Thanks, Jon, thanks for reading and writing!

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  19. P.S. Would you mind if I share your posting with some of my friends and family. You have really expressed what this day is supposed to be.

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  20. Always a lovely read, on this, one of my favorite days.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and Carlos!!!

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    1. Same to you and yours, MM! Thanks!

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  21. Keep being you, and we all have more to be thankful for each year

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