Thanksgiving 2008

Now that I have downed a thousand cups of coffee to make up for my sleepless night, fed the pigs, fed Martin, chased Brazen out of the pasture so the dogs can have their walk..... now that Oliver is fast asleep in front of the fridge and it is raining so I can’t finish the lawn I started yesterday......now that three of my four midterms are written up and the dishes are washed and the trip to the store for groceries is behind me.....now I can take time to be thankful.

I’m thankful for this beautiful province of ours, where the days of weather that is too hot or too cold are few and even the rainy weather eventually ends to reveal an amazing landscape of colour and sights and scents and sounds. I am especially thankful for my little corner of the province, where I get to drink in its beauty every single morning from my little hill in the pasture.

I’m thankful for the many critters with whom I share my life, both those that live with me and those I help from afar. I have learned from each and every one of them. I'm thankful for strong little Oliver and scrawny little Belle, for resilient Charley, soft gentle Sadie, and mischievous Allie. I’m thankful for funny piggy noises and funny piggy noses, and for an alpaca who teaches fearlessness and fortitude when those you cared about treat you badly. I am so very thankful for all the animals, past and present, who have touched me so deeply, brought love and laughter to my life, and helped me to grow.


I’m thankful, oh so thankful, I had the chance to love and raise Emma, and to know Caleb’s kisses and Isaac’s pressure against my side as we sat on the grass together, to feel Francis’s frail body in my lap, head tucked under my arm. They all so deeply touched my heart and awoke in me a compassion so compelling and alive that it could not help but spread and grow.


I’m thankful for my human family, ever supportive, and my human friends, always ready to listen and lend a hand. I’m thankful for the Spirit that guides my life, that gives me hope, that revives my soul when darkness falls, that connects me to nature in all its varied forms.

And I’m thankful for my readers with whom I get to share this journey of my life with the critters.

We live in a very blessed world; we need only to reach out with our hearts and our hands to share its richness with others less fortunate so they, too, can feel joy in their lives.

Happy Joyful Thanksgiving, everyone.