What I Give Thanks For

Kathy and Ed: two old hippies in love

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for many people and things, described here in stream-of-consciousness order:

My husband, Ed, who is my best friend, an excellent father to our three children, a talented cabinetmaker, and owner of the world's kindest heart My daughter, Rebecca, who at 22 is intelligent, level-headed, people-smart, and fun to be with My son Neil, who at almost 11 is intelligent, very detail oriented (couldn't have inherited that trait from his copyeditor mom, could he?), serious, big-hearted, and introverted My son Jared, who at 4 is cheerful, boisterous, musically inclined (can't help dancing anytime he hears music), extroverted, and huggy My cats Snuggles and Emily, whose purrs and nuzzling have cheered me up on many a gloomy day My in-laws, D. and A., who though they used to drive me batty, have become my good friends and close family members—and child-care providers and errand-runners so that Ed and I can work full time Being self-employed, which keeps me out of stupid office politics and stuffy business suits and lets me be at home exactly when my children need me to be (which is all the time) and allows me to earn money by doing what I love—reading all day long! The ubiquity of e-mail lists (my favorite is Copyediting-L), which has decreased the isolation of those in my profession exponentially My real-life friends Martha S., Lisa G., Marie S., Karen S., Glenn C., and Barbara M. My numerous cyberspace friends My brother Wally and my sister Becky, whom I wish didn't live in Texas, so far away from my New York State home The Rev. Molly Blythe Teichert, who was the pastor of my Presbyterian church for nearly 11 years and is now moving on to another church, and who taught me that Christianity isn't the right-wing zealots who grab the news headlines (and among whom I grew up) but is instead people who actively love others and work to make the world a better, more loving place The availability of good medications and therapy for treating Ed's, Neil's, and A's attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) The advances in education that have made individualized education plans (IEPs) possible, so that children in public schools get the educational situations they need to let their intelligence shine; without this, Neil's AD/HD would get in the way of his blossoming genius—and what a great loss to the world that would be The teachers, teaching paraprofessionals, and counselors of Eastern Suffolk Board of Cooperative Educational Services, including Sayville Learning Center and Jefferson Academic Center, who have helped Neil's intellect and social skills unfold beautifully A warm house Plenty of food Fellow bloggers, such as Peter Fallon at In the Dark, Erinberry at Jesus Was Not a Republican, KZ at (Not So) Little Feat, Kathy at Liberty Street, and Bill Blinn at Bush Bytes, who have the courage to always tell it like it is My clients, who constantly come up with fascinating and challenging projects for me to work on My church choirmates Donna and Gale, whose wonderful alto voices keep me singing the part I'm supposed to be singing Blogger, which hosts this blog Edward Wang, MD, who repaired my arm after I broke it almost three months ago Roger Ewonkem, MD, who recently prescribed a medication that relieves the restless leg syndrome that had stolen my sleep for 11 years Avocados, shrimp, olives, Southern fried chicken, chicken cooked in my slow cooker, white wine, retsina, whole-leaf green tea and white tea Candles, potpourri, scented oils Purple People with the courage to be open and kind Hugs Political gear: coffee mugs and T-shirts and bumper stickers and tote bags My adopted moms, Winnie and Estelle My in-laws' dog, Sandy, who's addicted to affection and whose fur is as soft as velvet

Thanksgiving cats family ADHD AD/HD ADD freelancer copyeditor EditorMom