Giving Thanks in 2025

My Thanksgiving began at 3:44 AM. Not because there were things to prepare for dinner, etc. but because one of my dogs needed desperately to go outside. I got out of our cozy, warm bed, slipped my jeans and shoes on and out we went into the 28-degree morning.

I was thankful. Not because I wanted to be out there, but because the alternative to letting her out wasn't pleasant for any of us. Both dogs will insist on going out, and I prefer to go out with them to deal with stray dogs, cats, and vagrants.

We came back in and I stripped off my jeans and crawled back into bed. Pam slept through it and I was thankful, because she needs her rest. I was also thankful that our girls (the two 50-pound dogs) were situated again in their respective places between us on the bed.

I was, and am, thankful for that, because although it limits the space on the bed, it also keeps us all warm and cozy. (Don't judge. I was raised in a dog training family and I know having them on the bed is taboo. I think that's part of the reason I allow it.)

I got back to sleep relatively quickly. At 5:30 AM, I woke up coughing and rolled out of bed, spending the next 30 minutes in the bathroom, hacking up mucus and blowing my nose. (Sorry for the visual.)

Guess what? That's right – I was thankful. Why? Because I have had a nasty case of sinusitis/bronchitis from a bug that's going around for about 4 days. Coughing the stuff up keeps the mucus out of my lungs, and when it doesn't clear out, I don't get enough oxygen when I breathe. So, I spent that 30 minutes trying to be as quiet as possible and rode out the coughing spell with a positive attitude.

After things cleared up, I went back to the bedroom and eased my way into bed again as quietly as possible. The dogs wagged, but Pam didn't stir. Something else to be thankful about.

When the alarm went off at 6:45, I thankfully turned it off, got up, got dressed and headed into the kitchen. I got the coffee brewing. Dishes needed done and I had Thanksgiving breakfast to prepare. We'd opted out of my oldest brother's plan to go to an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet at The Big Texan. (Yeah, it's right here in Amarillo – free 72-ounce steak challenge and all.)

I was thankful that Pam had agreed with me that didn't really fit the bill for a family Thanksgiving. Besides, I'm still coughing and hacking and don't really want to be doing it in a public restaurant, much less over the buffet table.

So, all in all, I think I started the holiday with the right attitude. I've rolled with a few more punches over the course of the day, and I believe I've done Thanksgiving justice.

In keeping with that frame of mind, I headed over to Vocal, checked out some stories, and took a look at the reads and comments on my last few. I've been a bit concerned about the lack of engagement on my stories lately. From double-digit responses on the first day, the totals have slipped to 8 to 10 and that trend started before the Holiday Season.

Now, I'm not here to complain that my fellow creators and regular readers have let me down. I'm aware that the exact opposite is at fault, and took a stroll through my older and newer Vocal stories. I haven't been putting any less effort into my writing, but I seem to see a subtle change in tone and delivery. I have some ideas as to the underlying causes, but I'm not going into an analysis here.

What I am going to do is refocus. I'm not here for awards or money. I have other writing outlets for that, and I do pretty well with them. I joined Vocal all those year ago because I love to write and it gave me the opportunity to show it. I'll be getting back to my roots here in that respect. Hopefully, the result will be a positive effect on the numbers. Either way, I'm left with more to be thankful for today.

I'm grateful as always, for my friends and fellow creators who read my stuff and comment regularly. You are the reason I'm still here. I'm also thankful that you and/or others gave me a sign that it was time to take a good look at my work. Thanks to that, I'll be trying to reignite that old spark and see if it shows.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!