Thanksgiving

Over the past few years, my partner and I have developed our own Thanksgiving traditions. This is how it went this year. We slept late, I fixed scrambled tofu and soy bacon for breakfast, and then we went to the gym. (My gym is open every year on Thanksgiving day -- and my yoga place had morning classes, too, which would have been a great option except for the sleeping late.) Then we came back and took the dogs to the park for a romp. This year, we met up with my father-in-law at the park -- we usually don't spend the day with any family members, but he was in town and wanted to see us a bit. Then he went off to his society shindig, and we went home to eat vegan Thanksgiving food from the natural foods place -- they do a pre-planned menu thing, where you just specify how many people you're ordering for, and pick it up on Wednesday night. It's pretty tasty, and it means that the day is a real holiday for me too. The dogs get special Thanksgiving food too. Then we went to the movies. Also a new twist on tradition -- we've always had the good intention of going out to the movies, but have often wound up staying in with DVDs instead. I think the key factor was that we didn't eat dessert before going out. Then we came home, and for the past hour or so our frozen vegan blueberry pie has been baking in the oven. We've each been writing/playing on our computers, geeks that we are. We'll rendezvous in a little while for pie and another movie.

All in all, it's been a great day. Very relaxing. Around Christmas time, we have to spend a lot of time with my partner's family, who are local. Travelling to see my mom is much more pleasant if we do it at some time other than the holidays. So we've been able to clear Thanksgiving for just us, which has been really nice.

I am so thankful for my partner, and for the life we've created together. I'm thankful also for the chance to share my life with two dogs -- over the past three years this new path has helped me to learn more about the web of feeling that connects all living beings together, and to become a better person through living in a new family group. I'm thankful for my friends old and new, face to face and virtual. Without all those moments of connection and support and laughter, this existence would be so much more bleak. And yes, I'm thankful for the internet, and for bloggers. When I stumbled into the blog world in May, I had really no idea how important it would become to me. Gratitude overflowing, y'all --