Inspired by Hawkgrrrl’s post over at Mormon Matters, I decided to write a post asking what you’re thankful for. It doesn’t have to necessarily be Mormon-related. I realize I asked this question last year, and I talked about the First Thanksgiving last year, but I think we don’t talk about our thanks as much as we should. So here are a few things I am thankful for:
- A good job. Last year I was finishing up graduate school. After graduating, I went through a period of unemployment, and extreme underemployment. It is good to be supporting my family again.
- A healthy baby boy. My wife was expecting at this time last year. We suffered through a miscarriage 2 years ago just prior to Thanksgiving, and it is nice to have a cute, happy, healthy baby boy crawling around the house.
- Good health. I work for a medical research company, so we study people with accidental, as well as congenital health problems. It makes me grateful I don’t experience these difficult health problems.
Hawkgrrrl had a top 10 list, and you’re welcome to add more, but I wanted to keep my list short. What are you thankful for?
Mormon Heretic 
I’m thankful for being in a position that makes it possible for me to help people and animals in some small way. In these tough economic times, people around the world are really hurting. There are some really devastating stories out there. I was surprised to login to my Kiva account this past week and discover that they are now listing a few Americans in need of a Kiva loan. Whether or not that’s right can be debated, but it’s sad for those who are in need.
My younger brother, who is currently on his mission in Argentina, has an LDS girlfriend in Peru. She’s a sweet young woman, being raised by her single mother in Lima. Anyways, the mother was in need of a simple gynecological procedure to correct something that is causing her a lot of pain. Apparently it’s a simple surgery, but the cost is about $300 USD and because they can’t afford it, she hasn’t been able to have it. So our family was able to put some money together to help them so she can have the surgery. We’re fortunate to be in a position where our own needs are being met and we can help others with theirs.
Yesterday, coming home from work, I ran into my co-worker who is battling brain cancer. He’s on a stronger round of chemo this time and he didn’t look good. December 2 he finds out whether this latest round has done anything to fight off his cancer, which is unlikely if past experience is any indication, and so alternative treatments abroad are perhaps his last hope. I was thinking about what this young man would give just to have another boring, mundane day at work without fighting for his life. I’m thankful just to be able to work.
I’m also thankful that it looks like we’ve found a good home for one of our foster cats. 🙂 I’m thankful that I was at the right place at the right time to save a tiny kitten during the summer and that she’s now going to be taken care of by nice people. Reading about all the abandoned and abused animals around the world, record numbers of them being dumped at shelters around the US, some of them euthanizing cats and dogs by the hundreds every month, I’m thankful that we’ve been able to rescue a few over here, although it’s just a drop in the bucket.
I have to say, I’m also very thankful for good friends online. I consider you to be one of them, MH. 🙂 Navigating through Church history and all the dilemmas and emotions that stem from that, I’m thankful for open-minded, level-headed, respectful bloggers like yourself. 🙂
I’m thankful for another year of stable health that permits me to function even if I can’t get out of the house much.
I’m thankful for 21st century medicine that permits that stable health and that I live in a rich country that produces such medicine and doesn’t (yet) have to ration care to many.
I’m thankful for 21st century science that gives me glimpses of the nature of reality that bring beauty and excitement into my life.
I’m thankful for the internet that allows me to expand my intellectual life from my bedroom/office.
I’m thankful for people like you with whom I get to share this intellectual — and sometimes personal, emotional experience. I feel genuinely concerned by the struggles some of you are experiencing, and if the prayers of one of these apostates CofCers is of value to you, you’ve got them.
I’m thankful for my religious heritage from my family that has taught me the importance of trying to follow God wherever led, and thankful for His continued presence however hairy the future journey becomes.
I’m thankful that I found the wife I needed in this parallel universe, and that we have a daughter who seems to be the best blend of both of us.
I’m happy that my wife has the skills to be the major breadwinner for us now, and still has the maddening ability to do that while starting up and running a charitable foundation to use music for various forms of healing support.
Fire Tag, if there was a “like” button on here like on Facebook to give your comment a thumbs up, I’d click on it now. 🙂
I’m thankful to have gained “apostate” friends like both of you! It has been fun getting to know you both online, and FireTag, I accept well-meaning prayers from everyone. I do recall an interesting experience on my mission regarding “apostate” prayers. I was going to tell it here, but I think I’ll save it for a special post, since it deals with Christmas anyway.
I am glad to hear you both are doing such good work with charity. With our young family, we don’t do as much charity work as we should, though I am sure we will try to do a sub for Santa again this year. Due to my work schedule, I’ve never been able to deliver any of the gifts, but I am always touched to hear the stories that my wife tells me as she delivers gifts to a family in need.
I should mention one other thing. My nephew just returned home from his mission to the Philippines on Thanksgiving Day. It is good to have him home safe. (His mother is my sister who died of a brain tumor 10 years ago.) Thanks for the kind words and thoughts!
MH, it’s understandable that working parents with small kids don’t have a lot of time to do charitable work. But teaching your children to be charitable is probably one of the most important things you can do, since they are the future. And it sounds like you and your wife are doing a good job with that, so I’m giving you a cyber pat on the back. 🙂
Fire Tag, are you by any chance on Facebook? It would be fun to “meet” a fellow “apostate.” 🙂
FD:
I am not. (I’m still struggling to deal with WordPress graphics!) My daughter is, however, so I’ll look into what her identity is there.
FD:
You can actually find my daughter on facebook using her own name (see how ignorant about social networks I am?) Search under Tacy Holliday and “friend” her.
Obviously, I might as well tip my own identity at this point: I’m Darryl Holliday.
FireTag, we really need to get you on facebook. I’m sure my parents are older than you and even they’re on it.
Things to do (internet subset):
Learn to use graphics RELIABLY on WordPress.
Get my post rate consistently up to 3 per week instead of 1 per 3-4 weeks.
Read more widely in the science blogs and in the bloggernacle.
Add wordpress bells and whistles.
Unfreeze the less-than-telestial kingdom.
Get on facebook. 😀
Start a blog more along the lines of my daughter’s or one that more directly supports my wife’s foundation.
Hmm, messed that order up. Should read:
Things to do (internet subset):
Learn to use graphics RELIABLY on WordPress.
Get my post rate consistently up to 3 per week instead of 1 per 3-4 weeks.
Read more widely in the science blogs and in the bloggernacle.
Add wordpress bells and whistles.
Start a blog more along the lines of my daughter’s or one that more directly supports my wife’s foundation.
Unfreeze the less-than-telestial kingdom.
Get on facebook. 😀
OK, I added her. I told her that we really need to get you on Facebook. 🙂
And my 83 year-old grandmother has a FB account, too. FB is simple as pie compared to blogging. 🙂
Simple as pie is what I’m afraid of! You have no idea of how much time I used to waste on string theory chatrooms!]]>
I’m thankful for people who are smarter than I am that have time to post interesting information online so I can learn so much.
This past year has been a great year of learning and growing (as expected, caused by heartache and trials). I guess I’m thankful for trials, but don’t think I’m supposed to say that out loud.
FireTag, graphics on blogs are over-rated. You can see that I use graphics sparingly… I am curious how you got that WordPress Snapshot to work–I’ve tried 2 plugins and neither one works. Which one did you use? I’d really like to add that plugin.
Heber, I’m thankful that people like you read my blog. 🙂 I don’t think I’ve ever been thankful for trials, but I am thankful for the things I’ve learned from them.
If the WordPress snapshot works, I have no idea why. I have no widgets not built into the theme template. I picked the template I did precisely because it promised I could use a photograph in the heading, and I knew I wanted the blog to be built around my alpha-omega picture.
Graphics do matter for some of the things I want to talk about. Best example (so far) is a guest post I did on the Nephihah battle campaign for Morgan Deane (who’s commented here several times) on his blog “Warfare and the Book of Mormon”. The post is extraordinarily long and obscure because I can’t just show the military maneuvers on the map.
And forcing a physicist to work without graphics and equations is just plain cruel!!!. 😀
I’ll send you an email offline. It’s pretty easy to add graphics, but I find it too cumbersome most of the time, which is why I add graphics sparingly.