A somewhat belated Thanksgiving

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving was Thursday, but I'm a little slow on the draw. Besides, it took me a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do for this post.

This was my first Thanksgiving without any of my family here. It was ... weird. I confess, though, that if I have to be without family, I'd really rather be here than somewhere in the US but lacking the ability to get home. No one here was celebrating Thanksgiving, so it was easier to forget what I was missing. And thanks to Skype, I did get to talk to the majority of my immediate family (plus Grinky!) which is always wonderful.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are things I'm thankful for:

1. The family I'm with here. They know it's harder to be in a foreign country at holidays, so they made me a "Thanksgiving dinner" over the weekend: turkey, potatoes, and corn (all foods I'd mentioned as being traditional). They've been wonderful.

2. The internet. And my computer. Darling macbook, if my poetry wasn't as the screeching of nails on a chalkboard to the ears of the unfortunate hearer/reader, I would write sonnets to you. After all, I am a long way from family, friends and familiarity (though alliteration hasn't forsaken me) and it's so so so nice to be able to keep up with people through facebook, email, skype and, of course, this blog.

3. Heat. The heat in the house went out last Monday night and was out on Tuesday, but is back. And y'all, and I am thankful. Because it snowed last night and now the temp is hovering around 28 - so a continued lack of heat would not be pleasant.

4. My actual family. Hmmm, somehow I feel like they should be higher on the list. Sorry actual family! But they've been so supportive of me being here, and of helping me mail things and sort out stateside stuff that it's hard to take care of from here, and hey, they're flying me back for Christmas! Besides, I kind of like them. Except my older brother, of course.

5. Friends. This is probably you, the person currently reading this. Know that I am so, so thankful for you, and I miss you!

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!