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I'm Grateful for Pumpkin Pie, Self-Cleaning Ovens and Whoever/Whatever Put Me Here

Before I presume to draw up my holiday gift wish list, it might be politic to put my Thanksgiving thank yous out there. Here goes. This year I'm grateful for.
Barbara Falconer Newhall
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Before I presume to draw up my holiday gift wish list, it might be politic to put my Thanksgiving thank yous out there. Here goes. This year I'm grateful for:

  1. Whoever/whatever created me and has thereby made it possible for me to feel the burst of gratitude I'm feeling right now.

  • Friends and family, of xourse.

  • The two cooks in the family, both of whom are not me. (My husband and daughter).

  • Stuffing (who cares about the turkey when there's stuffing to be had?).

  • Pumpkin pie -- dessert and vegetable courses, all rolled up in one.

  • Self-cleaning ovens. This could be 1965, for heaven's sake, and I'd be breathing

    • 2015-11-16-1447650794-9418793-thanksgivingturkeycarvingch580x580.jpg
    Two of the things I'm grateful for: my daughter the cook and the stuffing awaiting me in that turkey. Photo by Barbara Newhall

    oven cleaner fumes the day before T'day, and again the day after.

  • Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith. My book is out there at last. And a fellow religion writer, Don Lattin (Distilled Spirits, The Harvard Psychedelic Club), has written the foreword. Thank you, Don. And thank you, Patheos Press, for believing in me.

  • The 71 journalists -- yes, 71 -- who died around the world last year in the line of duty. That includes 3 in Mexico, 4 in Iraq, 4 in Libya, and 15 in Syria.

  • You. Yes, you dear reader. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't get to chatter away every week, happy in the knowledge that somebody, somewhere is taking me seriously.

  • Seconds on pumpkin pie and stuffing. Thirds, if no one is looking.

    • c 2015 Barbara Falconer Newhall. All rights reserved.

    A version of this post appeared on BarbaraFalconerNewhall.com, where Barbara writes about her rocky spiritual journey and the view from the second half of life.

    If you enjoyed this post, you might like "Huston Smith Has Studied Religion All His Life and There's Something He Wants You to Know." Also, "I Can't Believe I Got in the Water With That 1400-Pound Whale."

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