The American Thanksgiving holiday is this coming Thursday. We have made some adaptations to our celebrations since we moved to New Zealand, but we continue to observe it, even though celebrating a harvest festival in spring does feel a bit odd sometimes. There have been many times during this horrible year when I have been frustrated, unhappy, angry at the state of the world and the obtuseness of my fellow human beings. It is useful to occasionally step back from the day-to-day stresses and reflect on the good things we do have, and I have found that I do have much to be thankful for:
- I live in New Zealand, where a functional government respects science, where most of the residents approve of the government’s handling of the pandemic, and where campaigning for the next election doesn’t start the day after the previous election.
- The U.S. election is finally over, with a clear victory for a president-elect who will restore some much-needed sanity and dignity to the office.
- My friends and family are (mostly) in good health and good spirits.
- I have a good job that I can do from home. I have congenial company (husband and daughter), a well-stocked pantry (thanks to the aforesaid companions who do all the grocery shopping), and an overflowing personal library, both physical and electronic, to keep me entertained.
- My collection of plot bunnies keeps breeding. I may die of old age before I run out of story ideas.
Those are the major points on my list. I hope that you, too, may find things to be thankful for.