It’s November and you know what that means, that’s right December is right around the corner.

Just kidding, it means it is almost time for Thanksgiving. Since the first Thanksgiving in 1621, people in the United States of America have been gathering in the fall for a feast of thanksgiving, thankful for a bountiful harvest, as it were in the pilgrim days.

Today we gather around on the fourth Thursday of November and fill our stomachs with turkey or ham or whatever entrée you might have, and, of course, don’t forget the pumpkin pie.

Friday comes and for those not going back to work, others go shopping, but do we ever take the time as they did back in 1621 to be thankful.

The past two years I’ve listed a variety of things I’m thankful for and this year I plan to do the same but I want to list the little things, the things sometimes we forget are blessings, things that make our day a little brighter, things we may take for granted along the way.

Every year I say I am thankful for my dogs, and it is true. I’m thankful that all three greet me at the door when I come home. I’m grateful that the oldest, Sarah, loves to snuggle on the couch with me at night. I’m thankful the youngest, Shadow, loves to play ball and we play ball while I get ready in the morning and while I cook supper in the evening and all times in between. I’m thankful that the middle fur child, Ivy, has never outgrown the red dot because the pure joy on her face when she plays can turn any frown upside down.

Every year I say I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful that he can make me laugh at just the right times, especially when I’m totally frustrated and he knows nothing he says will smooth things over so he’ll make a wisecrack that totally cracks me up and makes me forget my frustrations.

Every year I say I am thankful for my job. And, I am again this year, and for the eight-mile commute to and from work every day. Every morning I’m amazed at the beauty I see – from the sunrise, to watching the crops grow and be harvested each fall, to the wildlife, foxes, racoons, rabbits, deer, hawks, geese, sandhill cranes. (No I don’t see all of them every day, but you never know when or what you’ll see.)

But don’t forget to be thankful for the small things. Like I am thankful I know have a stool in nearly every room in the house so I don’t have to keep moving and trust me I need one in nearly every room in the house to reach the top of the closets, cupboards and yes even in the laundry room to reach down in the bottom of the washer. (It’s the holidays, be nice, no short jokes.) I am also thankful for the cement blocks I use as footstools because they don’t make a chair and desk combination for the short person.

I am thankful for bacon cheeseburgers, the ultimate comfort food.

I am thankful my husband encouraged me to learn to make homemade lasagna because, now I don’t mean to brag, but it is way better than Stouffer’s.

And, finally, while it is not a little thing, but a big thing, I am thankful to the readers who tell me they enjoy my column each week. I am also thankful to all the Northern Wyoming Daily News readers, for without you I would not be able to come every day to a job I enjoy.

So thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving. May you be blessed this holiday season.