Happy Thanksgiving - 2024 Edition

Happy Thanksgiving y'all! I made this image to celebrate a day Americans decided was a good time to pause, reflect on the good things in our lives, and eat a ton of food. (You Canadians know what I mean - you did it last month, after all - the rest of the world - well, hope you're being thankful regardless of having a specific day or menu associated with it).

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays - mainly cause it has not been overly commercialized. Its just a simple concept: Eat extra stuffing and gravy, and think about the good things in ones life. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and most stores going into full on Christmas sales mode, there *is* a lot of commercialization surrounding the date. Thats all Christmas crap tho - Thanksgiving itself gets very little shelf space in retail, and I am 100% OK with that.

I suppose one could argue that since America is a commerce driven economy that the lack of commercialization of the idea of being thankful could be construed as a problem. In a capitalist society where money dictates the will of the people, where is the money going into being thankful? Those are thoughts that can exist... but I am thankful they don't have to. I am also not huge on the whole mythology of the day - you know what I mean: It's all wrapped up in that little diorama we North Americans have all had drilled into our heads during our youth of natives and pilgrims coming together to share a meal and have a rockin' good time. I'm not huge on that history because, odds are, its entirely fictional. Also it hides a lot of genocide of the First Nations people. This may be controversial in some circles, but I am of the belief that genocide is never good, regardless of when and where it happened, or how much turkey was consumed beforehand. Fortunately, this ugly history wrapped in a fuzzy fiction doesn't have to impact how we celebrate today. For me today is all about getting an extra helping of gravy and stuffing, and reflecting on the good things in my life. That is something I can definitely get behind. There are a lot of things to be thankful for. Some of which include:

• I am thankful I have a wonderful wife who loves and supports me. Without her I'd be lost in the woods. With her I have the strength to face life's challenges. I love you, sweetheart! Thank you for being all that you are.
• I am thankful I have two wonderful kids who are growing up to be smart, intelligent, amazing adult human beings. They are going to go off and do amazing things, and I get to be a part of their origin story. That rocks.
  
• I am thankful that I got to live in two countries that, while they don't always get run the way I wish they would, have given me security, freedom, and opportunities to get an education, find some financial security, and live a live that is relatively drama free. (For those not familiar, those two countries are Canada, where I was born and raised, and the United States, where I currently live). OK, fine, there is often a lot of drama - especially in light of the recent US elections (man these Americans know how to draw things out!) but generally speaking the Federal government has very little to do with my day to day life. I have never had the decision of "am I going to be nice or a jerk to my neighbours", or "will I drink Pepsi instead of Coke" depending on the decisions of the federal government. Those all remain personal choices, and thats a Good Thing(tm).
  
• I am thankful I have a space where I can be creative, make things (like the image in this post), photograph things, write things, and generally being forth my thoughts and ideas into the world. Its really not that glamorous of a space - just a couple small rooms in a relatively unfinished basement, but its more than some folks have, and it really does bring joy to my life. I am also thankful that I have a lot of creative people in my life - folks I don't spend nearly enough time with (either online, or offline - either due to distance, time, or the fact that I tend to be a hermit). But there presence in my feed, and in my life when we do get to hang out, has been awesome, and has helped make me the confident-in-creativity person I am today.
• I am thankful for Cheetos Cheese Puffs - you know why.

Those are just a few things I am thankful for. I could write more, but after a while it gets a little repetitive and a touch esoteric. I hope today, especially if you're American, but also especially if you are not, to take some time to reflect on your own life. It may not be (in fact I guarantee it is not) perfect, but if you look, you will find things to be truly thankful for.