As the veil of the all-American carb coma called Thanksgiving is likely just beginning to lift for most of you, I doubt the holiday has managed to slip your minds, or your waistlines, quite yet.
So, since I didn’t have a chance to do it this past Sunday, I thought I’d take this opportunity to extend the memory just a little bit longer and share my annual list of things for which I’m grateful this year.
As per usual, some of them aren’t grand, or deep, or even particularly original. But they’ve all, at one time or another, made me feel fortunate.
All righty then, Thanksgiving friends, here goes:
— Poshmark. OK, to be completely honest, I’m not entirely sure I’m thankful for Poshmark. I might actually hate it. I haven’t quite decided. But, given the sheer quantity of clothing and footwear I own that I have either zero occasion to wear or have become too fat to fit into — and considering the amount of money I’ve spent on it (I don’t go in for the cheap stuff) — I appreciate the chance to make a few bucks back, while purging all the size 2s that otherwise just hang there, mocking me.
And, frankly, it’s something to do while binge-watching old SVU episodes every night, which is pretty much the epitome of my social life these days.
— Vegan butter. I can hear the collective groan of the Kerrygold lovers out there, and believe me, I feel you. As my attempt to phase animal products out of my diet entirely continues (I gave up meat years ago, but dairy has always been a struggle), I’ve found breaking up with butter to be the biggest challenge. I thought cheese would be the one to do me in. Turns out, my morals are more threatened by a slice of toast. So, when it’s not time for one of my allotted dairy cheats, I’m happy to at least have a tub of Earth Balance nearby.
— Hillcrest Veterinary Clinic. As I mentioned a couple weeks back, my senior dog Pops needed surgery recently, to remove a mass in his mouth. He also had a somewhat worrisome lump on one of his hind legs that needed to be aspirated. I’m happy to report he made it through both procedures happily and healthily, and neither showed any signs of cancer. I owe the smoothness of the entire process to the very capable and dedicated doctors, techs and assistants at Hillcrest, who have cared for my dogs for years, including through the difficult diagnoses with my beloved Tobey the T. If you have a vet you trust, remember to thank him or her this holiday season. I really do believe they have one of the hardest — and most important — jobs out there.
— Dogs. While we’re on the subject, I think it’s a safe bet to list dogs as one of the things for which I’m most grateful, not just at Thanksgiving, but pretty much all the time, constantly, forever. Because, well, what’s better than a dog? People? LOL. No. My dogs may not be the best-behaved — or well-behaved at all, really — but they make me laugh multiple times each and every day. And they are also fully supportive of my blanket-filled, couch-surfing, snack-munching, SVU-marathon lifestyle. To quote the people I hate most on Facebook: #blessed.
So there we have it, another year gone by. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, everybody.
As always, thank you for reading.
May we all be able to button our pants again soon (or at least not get lowballed when we have to sell them on Poshmark).
Katie McDowell is a lifestyles writer/copy editor for The Dominion Post. Email her at kmcdowell@dominionpost.com.
