Monthly Archives: November 2011

On being thankful…

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Well, I survived the Thanksgiving holiday.  The Christmas tree is up and lit, turkey has been eaten (and eaten again…and once more for good measure), and I made it through the weekend with only with a sore neck to show for it, and no unexplained bruises – I’ll explain later you dirty-minded bloggery stalker types.  Anyway, now that the kiddo is back to school and life has returned to something resembling normal, I have a moment to reflect on the holiday and what I am thankful for. 

I’ve seen several people on Facebook writing about what they’re thankful for on each day of November.  Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent exercise.  I’m all for anything that reminds you of your blessings, yet why do we do this sort of thing only in November?  Does Turkey Day engender an obligatory sense of thankfulness that the rest of the year seems to be a stranger to?  Possibly, although I know that throughout the year, in some of my darkest moments, I have written out a list of my blessings – drawing my attention from the sh*tty things in my life to the amazing – not that I’m any better or worse than those who choose to remember their blessings daily in November; that’s NOT what I’m saying.  Put the pitchforks down – I’m just fascinated by the phenomenon. 

And hey, I thought about documenting the things that I’m thankful for on a daily basis in a sort of a-blessing-a-day-keeps-the-gloomies-away manner this November.  I also started handwriting things to be thankful for in the journal I write in just before bed.  But, I got lazy.  I’ll admit it.  It’s not that I’m unthankful for what I have, it’s just…well…that’s a lot of effort to write things down.  I know; I KNOW!!! I sound like an ungrateful wretch, but I’m not.  I promise.  I’m trying to rectify the oversight now.  As I look back through my journal this year, and as I think of everything I have, I am reminded of a few things that I am thankful for:

At the passing of a relative, I was thankful for life.  In the throes of heartbreak, I was thankful for love.  In the times when I couldn’t rub two nickels together, I was thankful for the promise of something better. 

I am thankful for my family; I am thankful for my friends.  I am thankful for those who never, ever leave – even when others make a hasty exit from my life (their loss, right?).  I am thankful for my talent – because there are some people who can’t form a coherent paragraph to save their life (I, on the other hand, couldn’t add two numbers together correctly to save mine!!) but I can’t imagine living a life as anything other than a writer.  I am thankful for things like sushi and firefighters.  I’m even thankful for my silly Pug as she simultaneously snores and farts [ever the lady] in her sleep. 

I love the holidays.  It’s a time when everyone starts to focus on the good in life – namely blessings, and family and friends.  It starts to get cold and you just want to cuddle up with a pet or a loved one and – in my case – watch a football game, or you know…a movie works too.  I am thankful for this time of year and for what it means.  And I was very thankful for this long weekend with all my crazy family.

Among the other things I did this weekend, I instructed my daughter on the proper listening technique for “Bohemian Rhapsody” a la Wayne’s World:

Thus the sore neck…I’m getting to old for such shenanigans.

On Veterans Day

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I find that I feel differently on a day such as this.  Veterans Day and Independence Day both put me in a mood which is not so depressed as it is reflective and contemplative.  Maybe somber is the best word for it.  Honestly, I struggle to even put my feelings into words - yes.  I, of all people, have trouble expressing the gratitude that fills my heart on these days.  I know!  Long-winded writer that I am, I just can’t do it. 

If you don’t know already, I am a military historian.  My research has always centered on Colonial and Revolutionary America.  That’s changed me – you can’t read first-hand accounts of all of the wars our nation has been through and come out of that the same person.  Years ago, I would simply give Veterans Day a passing glance on the calendar, and the Fourth of July was always about time off work and fireworks.  I’ll admit it.  I mean, I was patriotic - don’t get me wrong, but I just didn’t get it on a deeper level.  This was also at a time that I didn’t actually know any military veterans personally, I had not experienced life on a military installation, and I certainly hadn’t dedicated years (literally) to studying the military and the foundation of our country.  Days like today mean something else to me now.

I have been blessed with many servicemen and women in my life.  My brother and sister-in-law are both active duty soldiers.  Other dear friends have committed themselves at one point or another to the service of our country.  I cannot even put words to my gratitude for their sacrifice, so I’ll just end with a final comment, rather than ramble endlessly:

Thomas Jefferson and the committee commissioned to write the Declaration of Independence wrote back in 1776: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Whether trudging through the snow at Trenton or braving the camel spiders and sand of the Middle East, whether operating a river boat or an unmanned aerial vehicle, whether sacrificing their lives or their family time, our servicemen and women past and present are the reason we are free today. 

Thank you for your service.  God bless you.  God bless America.

Word Monkey Shenanigans

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So yeah, I’ve been a horrible blogger the past month; it’s not really like me, but I have a valid excuse (although that’s all it really is, is an excuse).  Life has been throwing me some curveballs lately, but as the French say, c’est la vie!  So what have I been up to?  Well, writing actually.  I’m still pumping the dating book out.  I’ve also started NaNoWriMo with a dieselpunk YA book tentatively titled SAIL.  It’s kinda far out there, and this is my first attempt into the steampunk/dieselpunk genre, so we’ll see how it goes.

File:TheFaulknerPortable.jpgI’ve been tutoring some great kids lately – good Lord that makes me sound old!  They’re in college, but I’m at least a good ten years older than most of them, and yes, at almost 30 (eek!!) the difference between a 19-year-old and a 29-year-old is astoundingly obvious.  Kids in their early 20s (and those who associate with them) are just on a different plane than the rest of us adults – because age is more than just a number.  They just don’t “get” life yet, I’m convinced.  And it’s not necessarily a bad thing, just a fact of life.

So anyways, I rub elbows with PhDs on a regular basis, and it’s been really fantastic.  In particular, I’ve made friends with a professor who is one of the college’s philosophy instructors.  You can imagine what happens when you put a philosopher and a military historian together in a room with a topic, but he’s cool.

Dating Land continues to be adventuresome; watch out world!!  And watch out readers.  There’s more fun to be read about!

That’s it for now.  I’ll be posting some more flash fiction up here soon, and I’ll keep you updated on NaNo shenanigans and the dating book release date. 

Faithful readers, I love you all!! Smooches!!