Friday Night Think Tank: Thanksgiving Edition

It’s Black Friday, Modern Philosophers.  I hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving and are having a Happy Hanukkah.

I worry that Thanksgiving is getting lost in the Holiday shuffle, so even though it’s Turkey Day plus one, I wanted to make the Pilgrims’ big day the subject of this week’s adventure.

So put on your Deep Thought Togas and meet me out at the Think Tank.  There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge.  All I ask is that you bring an open mind and some pie.

This Week’s Topic: What are some things that you are thankful for that you didn’t mention to friends and family at the dinner table last night?

I make sure to always state some things for which I am thankful before I dig into my Thanksgiving feast.  Since I ate alone last night, I didn’t have to worry about hiding the more unique items on my list as there was no one around hear them.

Ironically, one of the things I mentioned was being thankful that ten years after my divorce, I had yet to die of loneliness.  I was so certain that I would suffer that fate once the ex-wife left me all alone at The House on the Hill, and for awhile there, it looked like that was my destiny.

Somehow, however, I’ve managed to survive.  I still don’t like being alone, and it really sucks on holidays, but I have come to accept that the solitude won’t kill me.

I was also thankful for getting to hear the words “I love you” again.  That was another neurosis that caused me many sleepless nights after my marriage ended.  I was absolutely certain that no one would ever again say those words to me, and that scared me almost as much as the idea of dying of loneliness.

The final “odd thing” on my list had to do with my writing.  I still haven’t gotten to a point where I can support myself with my writing career, but I was thankful that I’ve never felt more like a writer.  Between writing every day for this blog, and the things that are going on with .33Reverse Gunther, I just can’t help but think of myself as a writer who has a side job to provide health insurance and the mortgage payment.

What about you, Modern Philosophers?  Are there things for which you are thankful that you don’t mention to others because you’re not sure how they’d react, or because you worry that they might make you sound a bit odd?

Don’t be afraid to share them with the group.  The Think Tank is a safe place where there are no wrong answers.

I look forward to reading all your comments, but it’s going to have to wait until I get some sleep to recover from this draining one day work week…