It is Thanksgiving. The day of family and friends getting together, eating a smorgasbord of foods, watching football and of, course, giving thanks! I’m not sure which we do the most, eating probably. Thank s g iv i ng comes around every year at the end of November.

So as I ponder the upcoming day of giving thanks, my mind drifted to some things that have occurred recently. Things like the surprise of having to put a new roof on our house in Copan (Jill and I fixing up to retire in next year). The roof had an inspection and passed and we were told the roof was in great shape, should last for years. It didn’t even make it a year and now I’ve spent a bunch of money on replacing.

This all came about after my stepping on a broken ceiling truss in the attic and taking the express stairway down to the ground. I am still sore from that incident. And when I put my boots on a couple of Sundays ago I noticed a hole starting in the soul. These are my favorite boots. I have had them for almost 20 years. They are so comfortable and now I have to wear my other pair, and they are not as comfortable.

I don’t know what Jill has been doing with the wash. My favorite denim jeans are now getting a little snug! I think she may be drying them a little too long. I guess I will have to look at some new jeans when I go to get a pair of boots.

And, what is up with this weather? Heating or Air Conditioning? Which is it going to be? I had the heat on one morning and that afternoon I was turning on the A/C. I wish it would get hot or cold and stay that way for more than a day….or a few hours!

Then, one of my vehicles that just turned 100,000 miles had a check engine light come on…REALLY? Wonder what that is going to cost now?

As the roofers were tearing off the old roof they noticed signs of wild life in the attic. Well that is interesting, the plumber said the same thing. Next thing I know one of the roofers said the wild life hadn’t been just living there, it STILL was. A live raccoon has decided that my attic is a nice place to hibernate for the winter. I have to find a live trap, catch it and then release to an undisclosed location (raccoon protection program).

I thought of all of this (and more) and began wondering if this year (the fall anyway) was such a blessing. And that is when I thought that all these events are not bad (well, maybe the raccoon), it is a matter of prospective. I could look at these and get really depressed and begin to be ungrateful. But that is not what I chose to do.

Yes, the roof had to be replaced and it was expensive, but how cool I was able to find the money and replace it. As a matter of fact, the roof is better now than ever and should outlive me! Also, it is awesome to have a place that I can call home!

Falling through the ceiling was somewhat traumatic, but I was not injured and could walk away on my own. The altered truss was discovered and fixed. Had I not fallen through I would not have known the problem existed and it most certainly would have caused problems later on.

The boots with the hole in them….what are the odds that I have another pair of boots (actually 2 pair) that I can wear! Those jeans that are getting snug probably have nothing to how the laundry is done and more to do with my dietary habits. I could cut back on the donuts or push away from the table a little earlier.

It is pretty amazing that I have a place to live in where I can switch back and forth from heating to air conditioning with just a flip of the switch. Even greater is the fact that I have heating and air conditioning.

That car that just had an engine light come on at 100,000+ miles could be indicative of the fact that I go a lot of places…not by foot… by car! And guess what? The car has a heater and air conditioner (which I used both in 1 day).

Now the raccoon in the attic, I can guess I can think how privileged I am to have a raccoon in my attic. I mean, how many people have that? And what are the odds that that particular animal chose MY HOUSE to spend the winter in too? A simple live trap with some food will eliminate that problem.

You know, as I finish writing this, I really am blessed. Even with all these events, I am blessed. I have a house to retire in, more shoes that I can wear in a week, a closet full of clothes, two vehicles to travel pretty well anywhere I want and no injuries from past accidents.

Not too bad when I look at it from that perspective. I could be mad, complaining and ungrateful. But instead of focusing on the negative, I am going to look at it from how much I have been blessed. How about you?

Still Looking for a Live Trap Bro. Tim Psalm 100