Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It's Raining on My Car

or 
Why I'm Thankful
by Bethany Maines

So it’s the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house…  Yeah, Thanksgiving eve doesn’t quite have the same storied tradition as Christmas, does it? The kids don’t get giggly in excitement waiting for the giant turkey to burst out of the oven and give them the gifts of candied yams. (Although, now that I mention it, how fun would that be?) 
Not that the night before Thanksgiving doesn’t have traditions. There’s the frenzied run to the store.  The scrambling for some sort of dinner because the entire refrigerator is jammed with Thanksgiving food. The eating of the sacrificial pumpkin pie (ok, maybe that one’s just me). And of course, since it’s Thanksgiving in the Pacific Northwest there’s a down pour of rain. And now apparently, at my house, there’s the tradition of re-roofing the carport. Frankly, I was expecting more baking and less hammering with my Thanksgiving. But as my husband and I were discussing the additional strain on the budget, and the seriously lame prospect of roofing in the rain I realized something. While it is a serious inconvenience to be relocating all the cabinetry for our upcoming bathroom remodel to middle of the kitchen, well, we have a kitchen. And a bathroom. And a living room. And bedrooms. None of which are leaking. 

When my husband and I moved into our house, we’d spent a month sprucing it up, painting, and remodeling. Then, the night after we officially moved in, I was, shall we say, “released on my own recognizance,” a victim of our new economic reality. I was more than a bit concerned that we were going to lose the house. And now, a little over two years later, I’m worried about the car-port roof leaking like a colander. You know what? I’ll take it. 

The economy has pushed a lot of people who thought they were safe to the brink and every day more people lose their jobs or visit a food bank that never thought they’d be in that situation. The fact that my husband and I aren’t among them is purely due to the grace of God, unemployment and the unending support of our family and friends. So if the night before Christmas is for hoping for presents, then the night before Thanksgiving must be for counting your blessings. I know I’ve been given a boatload of them, including a great virtual group of friends here on the Stiletto Gang.  So to all of you out there in internet land, thanks for being part of my world. I hope you are all safe, fed, and with your loved ones.


9 comments:

  1. Bethany, good luck with the carport! I've got water in the basement today but hopefully it will be the last time because on 12/5, Chez Barbieri gets waterproofed. (And let me tell you, that service does not come cheap.) Then, a new roof. Then, college. I'd like to think we are all in the same leaky boat, but that's not true...some of us are already under water and that is the saddest part of all. Great post. Let's remember that we are all very fortunate and offer a wish to the universe that things get better for the 99%. Maggie

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  2. Lovely post and a good reminder of all our blessings.

    Happy (and hopefully dry!) Thanksgiving!

    Marian

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  3. Bethany, love this post. But then, I love all your posts! Yet another thing I'm grateful for: that you're a part of this Gang! I feel extremely thankful this Thanksgiving. The older I get, the more I realize how precious the little things are, and I don't ever want to take anything or anyone for granted. Here's hoping everyone finds warmth and a full belly on this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  4. Bethany, thanks for reminding me of all my many blessings. Have a wonderful (and hopefully, not too wet) Thanksgiving!

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  5. I echo your sentiments, Bethany. I am blessed in so many ways. Thanks for the reminder. We're supposed to have rain tomorrow too. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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  6. Wow. What a beautiful reminder of what this holiday is about. Thank you!

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  7. Great post, Bethany! It really does remind us that Thanksgiving really isn't about the food:) (Although I hope everyone enjoys that, too!)

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  8. That was barely literate. I meant to say Happy thanksgiving and thank you to all of you who bring me such pleasure. There, that's better.

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  9. We heart you, Lil. :-) Happy Thanksgiving!

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