The Thanksgiving Blog 2018

Well, it was about this time last week that I was finishing up that two-part series on the Netflix algorithms versus what I really like in SciFi and Fantasy movies. That and starting what was supposed to be this week's blog, which was supposed to be about how - in some stories - the way a character celebrates a holiday can be a powerful backstory development tool.

Fascinating, I know.

Then a thing happened on Friday and I really, really had to set that post aside. I'm still planning to finish the above-mentioned post, just… not in time for Thanksgiving.

My dad had a heart attack. Again.

The last time that happened (four years ago), I was thousands of miles away, doing the Lord's work and all that jazz. And I could easily sit down and try to write a blog where I process everything that happened then and now, but I'm not. Like last time, I'll be crying and realizing most of what I said belongs in my journal… not on the internet.

So I thought instead I would make a short list of the things I have been thankful for since Friday.

Things I'm Thankful For

I was home and not thousands of miles away when it happened this time
This heart attack was not nearly as bad as the last one.
My dad is still around to tease and harass me for a few more days *insert wink emoji here*
I could be with my parents at the hospital all day Friday
My family has a strong community of people around it that love and support us

I know this list could be a hundred times longer, but I don't want to keep those of you celebrating Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving, if that's who you're spending the time with) any longer than I have to. The point is simple, and probably the same one most of us have had hammered into our brains from as far back as we can remember.

Take a pause. Be thankful for what you have.

But I would tack this onto that - "especially the people you love who love you in return. There isn't much more precious in the world than that."

Happy Thanksgiving, guys. Praying yours is a good one.

P.S. - In case you were wondering, my dad has been home since Sunday, and is resting and recovering as well as can be expected. He does pop onto this little blog every once in a while, and if you leave a comment wishing him well, he just might see it.

Comments

My Writer's Toolbox: Thesauruses I Love

I don't know about the rest of you writers in the crowd, but there are times when I struggle to get the right words to come out onto the page. The debate over using thesauruses amongst authors can be fierce. My personal opinion is that there is definitely a place and time to use them (they've saved me from missing deadlines on a few occasions), so long as a writer is careful not to overuse them. Because I do consider them an essential in my writer's toolbox of resources, I thought I would share the ones I make the most use out of and where you can find them. 1. Webster's New World Thesaurus (credit: @catpollockwrites IG, posted 8/24/2017 ) When you were in grade school, did your teachers ever hand out those monthly or bimonthly Scholastic book catalogs with all the age-appropriate books coming out that they wanted you to buy? That, my friends, is how I got a hold of my thesaurus. It's almost like mid-thirties me traveled back in time and whispered int

Metaphors: Candles

I've recently fallen in love with candles. Since coming home from the World Race , I've bought at least one a month. My favorite candles are the ones that come in glass jars - because when they burn out, I can clean the remaining wax out and put the jars to other uses. Right now, that means they get cleaned out and packed away in anticipation of my move to Flagstaff. But as I was lighting one tonight (vanilla spice... Thanksgiving smells? Yes, please!), I saw a metaphor for writing flickering away in the flame licking at the wick and melting the wax. I suppose it could be a metaphor for life in general, but since the theme of this blog is writing... Well, you do the math.

[Five Minute Friday] Purpose

Fiber bars, strewn along the side of the road. There had to be at least a dozen of them, still in their wrappers and completely unopened. No box in sight. Really? That's about the reaction my younger sister and I had when we stumbled on them on our early morning run. Really? along with disgusted sighs about the wastefulness of it. These were the expensive ones, not a generic store brand that kind of tastes and kind of looks the same sometimes. So, when we weren't keeping an eye out for their box, we speculated about what had happened. And wondered how many more we were going to see before the end of our run. "Maybe they took one bite and thought they were gross," my sister said. "So they threw them out because they didn't want them anymore." I let out one of those disgusted sighs and nodded along with her theory. "Yeah, or they got in a huge fight, and threw them out in a fit of rage." "That's a possibility." And

Cat Pollock Writes

Search This Blog