Opportunities and Turkeys. And Ducks.

So, it's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. We Canucks like to get a jump on things. Why wait until November for a holiday when we can just have two in October? Plus November is dreary. And I was born in October.

I swear there's some applicable logic in there somewhere.

So, a time to give thanks... and I thought, coming off the last post, that I should give thanks for my opportunities. So many of them... First, of course, is the family I came from, a wonderful little crew in a house full of books. A family that valued books and knowledge and education. My mother's father was a doctor, and my father's parents were a teacher (his mother) and a principal (his father). My mother is a nurse (who once taught nursing) and my father was a history professor (and published historian). So, books and education... a wonderful opportunity, and one that shows up as much in attitude and obsession as anywhere else.

My parents supported me, too, in what I wanted to do, and paid for much of my education. Two degrees in Creative Writing, another wonderful if perhaps impractical opportunity. But it's what I loved and they supported that.

And, of course, my wife, who is always there for me and always supports my writing ambitions. First reader, fellow writer, she makes everything possible. She understands what writing means to me, and that is no little thing. She permits me my obsession!

So, I have been blessed with many opportunities on this odd path. And I'm guessing it's good to sometimes stop and reflect on those opportunities, and be thankful for them. While eating my turkey this weekend I'll try to keep those things in mind.

Okay, yes, I'm actually making a duck. Duck is good. And if I burn it, um, it's your fault. Yes. Yours. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Anyone else have writing opportunities they're thankful for?