We can give thanks anytime. Sure, now seems a bit more popular. A group “giving of thanks” with the family, or people who are as good as family, is a nice tradition. And for those who partake (I’m a vegetarian and still miss the drumstick), all the turkey tryptophan and togetherness of the upcoming week and weekend are the perfect time to reflect on the luck we have and not resent any lack we have experienced.
And I’ll start. My list isn’t long and nowhere near complete. It’s not funny, nor even…amusing. Here goes:
- I’m grateful for laughter, maybe the part that’s a sense of humor and the ability to share it in such a way that I’ve had a living provided.
- I’m grateful too, for those who make me laugh, some with the hard work of joke delivery, but most just by being human and being observed.
- I’m grateful for friends I’ve made through sharing a laugh, because it’s hard to truly dislike someone who shares your sense of humor. (Enough shared laughter might turn the folks mentioned above into people who are like family.)
Finding laughter to give thanks for is sometimes easy. A grand visit with good friends (thanks Frank V. and Toni M.) found me laughing over their gift: A bottle of Sesquipedalian wine. First, sesquipedalian is a funny word. It feels good to pronounce. Try it! Ses-qui-ped-alian. It’s like aerobics for your lips. Second, the definition of sesquipedalian is a “long word with many syllables.”* Sesquipedalian is exactly that. This pinged my funny bone. A toast to the witty folks at Cole Bailey Vineyards in Mendocino!
Wherever the holiday season and the new year takes you, I hope you can carry the spirit of Thanksgiving and be grateful for humor and laughter whenever you find it. A sincere thanks to everyone who has added laughter and light to my life.
*From the Latin for “foot-and-a-half-long words”