Thanksgiving

My family is not the type to go around the table and say what we’re thankful for on Thanksgiving (we’re mostly too busy stuffing our faces, picking on each other heartily and yelling at the kids to SIT DOWN AND EAT), but I feel like I definitely have a lot of good stuff going on right now. It obviously hasn’t been a year-long thing, as I spent last spring in a haze of unhappiness, all job-related. I do have a tendency to dwell on the negative – I know that I had some fun last spring, with friends and family, going to concerts, etc., but unless I think really hard, all I remember is how miserable I was five days a week, from 8 AM to 4 PM, all spring long.

By summer, I had pretty much given up on my job, and when I was let go, I did have my bitter moments, but mostly it felt good to not be in that sort of environment. And we all know that I had fun being unemployed… that was so nice! I read all I wanted, I visited my family for as long as I wanted, I saw several of my friends quite a lot. The money thing was pretty immaterial, and though I did a lot of job-searching, I wasn’t worried at all about finding another job.

And so, of course, I found another job. I just started my fourth week, and I’m still so happy to be here, right around the corner from my house. In contrast to my last two jobs, here I have help, and I see actual evidence of my supervisor working hard herself, and my input is valued, and my benefits are awesome, and I could go on and on right now.

Beyond the great new job, my family is doing well (my mom still needs her hips replaced, but she is otherwise A-OK), and my friends all seem to be shiny happy people. My house just got rid of some pretentiousness, and is nice and quiet again. Floyd is still entertaining as hell. I just got some unbelievably comfy flannel sheets. This weekend I got a sweet new lipstick from Sephora, and some skirts that were wicked on sale.

Oh, this weekend I also went to the Buffalo Lebowski Fest with Ami and Jon and their friend Alex. I am not a great bowler, but the White Russians seemed to bolster my confidence, and my bowling improved significantly. Jon and Alex won the costume contests – they dressed as the Dude and Walter, respectively. Good times.

Back to Thanksgiving – I have been invited to go out with my half-sister and her friend, who is also a friend of my mom’s, and that should be fun. And then a looong weekend of family times. Owen told me he was going to kick me in the face for Thanksgiving.

I don’t know why, but I’m really excited to see my brother’s dog Roy. He is a boxer, large and still kind of young and excitable. Every time I see him, I have to bellow, “ROY!,” and then he drops down low with his butt in the air, and then we play. He is still really gangly, which cracks me up, and he seems to have a problem with feet, so I like to fake-kick him.

My nephew John has decided that Roy is his favorite jungle gym. He likes to flop on Roy, roll over Roy, giggling all the while. Mom said that the other day John was the only baby she was watching, and she was in one room, listening in on John and Roy. She said that all of a sudden John was quiet, so she looked into the dining room, and Roy was sitting on John, with just John’s head sticking out. Mom yelled, “Roy, get off the baby!” So Roy came into the living room and laid down… and John walked in from the dining room and belly-flopped onto Roy.

Apparently they’re playing King of the Mountain.