I'll admit up front that this column was embarrassingly easy to write.
I rarely resort to running reader mail or interviewing my close friends for insights on important issues facing Winnipeggers, so I beg your forbearance today.
Here's my 2008 list of gratitude. Some of my choices will also be yours, if we consider thankfulness for family, the privilege of employment, the right to vote and the ability to express our opinions without fear of reprisal.
"ö As always, I am thankful for my family. I have been gifted with a patient and loving husband, a terrific daughter, three fascinating stepchildren, parents who serve as my moral compass and an extended family-in-law who have been an unexpected joy and inspiration.
"ö I'm thankful for the gift of health. As I learned to walk again this summer, I realized I was still strong, capable and now much more aware of my own mortality. Not everyone confined to a wheelchair is told that perseverance and hard work will get her back on her feet.
"ö I'm thankful for a medical system that gave me all the help I needed. Say what you will about hallway medicine (and I say it's a crying shame the government is unable to provide the ill with privacy and dignity), our doctors and nurses give it their all.
"ö My friends. Someone has to put up with me.
"ö My readers, especially the ones who take the time to get in touch and tell me their stories or respond to my opinions.
"ö I am thankful for every CFS worker and foster parent who works diligently to provide care to vulnerable children.
"ö I am thankful for the late Reuben Cristall, perhaps the finest man I've ever met. If we're very fortunate, we come to know people who, by their very example, inspire us to reach beyond the easy and ordinary. Reuben was one of those rare individuals.
"ö The staff at Rossbrook House. They offer hope and a safe haven to children who need it desperately.
"ö I'm thankful for my mother's perogies. They have magical properties. I'm convinced of this.
"ö The staff at Meiji. Why? Because their fashion roll is a little piece of heaven.
"ö The staff at Winnipeg Harvest (and not just because my daughter works there). People shouldn't have to rely on food banks. Until the need ends, I'm thankful Harvest fills the gap.
"ö Tina Fey for her Sarah Palin impersonations.
"ö Sarah Palin for making it easy.
"ö Turkey.
"ö I'm thankful so many of you understand that those of us who have plenty have a moral obligation to share it with those who have little.
"ö Ten Spa. They have the weary gratitude of a middle-aged woman for a place that makes her feel coddled, pampered and pretty. If I could afford it, I'd live there.
"ö Agape Table for Kids.
"ö My Free Press carrier. The guy who pumps my gas at Co-op. The staff at Reh-Fit. Any neighbour who picks up after their dog. My postal carrier. The guy who works in the lab at Pan Am clinic. Why? Because while I may not know their names, I'm thankful they make my life easier.
"ö Every person brave enough to run for elected office knowing their personal and professional lives will be put under a microscope.
"ö Mashed potatoes and gravy.
"ö My faith, and the fact that I can practise it without fear of discrimination or violence.
"ö I'm thankful I host the Thanksgiving feast and never have to look at another jellied salad or Brussel sprout.
"ö Sandy at the Grant Park MLCC. Why? Because she saw me buying wine in my wheelchair after a long absence this summer, did a double take and shouted: "Thank God! We ARE going to turn a profit this year!"
"ö I'm thankful for a genetic predisposition, a strict workout schedule and a dislike of fried foods that allows me to be obsessed with food and still remain slender.
"ö I am thankful I'm just smart enough to realize how easy I've got it in most areas of my life.
"ö Finally, I'm thankful you're all out there, reading, agreeing, disagreeing and entering into this vast dialogue of people who care passionately about the world and our place in it.
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
PREVIOUS
