What's on My Plate

 Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. Which is kind of funny, because I don't eat turkey. 

But what I love about Thanksgiving is that it is a one-day holiday--with maybe the day before for preparation--that you spend with the people you love most. 

Christmas--even though I enjoy it--has grown to a scale that is overwhelming for most people, including me, but that hasn't happened with T-Day. It remains pretty much unchanged since the early days--A feast to give thanks. 

And despite what some people might think, I have a lot to be thankful for, and I've gotten to a place where I can focus on the things I'm thankful for without getting pulled into feeling bad about all the rest. I don't know how I got here, but I am loving it!

One of the things I am most thankful for, although, again, I don't know how I got here, is that I am really strong emotionally right now. And I have been for quite a while. Bad news doesn't bother me, even waiting for test results no longer sends me into a tailspin of anxiety like it used to. 

I don't think it's that I've gotten used to getting bad news ... but in a way, that is it. I have learned to cope with getting hit in the head with a two-by-four every few months. How weird is that? 

My Plate

So, back to what's on my plate tomorrow. 

Since Younger Son and I don't eat meat, or gravy, or stuffing prepared with meat, but Older Son loves all of this, we always have T-Day with a meat-eating friend. That way, everyone is happy. (I did ask Older Son if he was ready to cook a turkey this year, but he said no. Maybe next year he'll tackle that, because he does love to cook.)

My part of the feast is to prepare the cranberry sauce--from fresh, organic cranberries--and also the pumpkin pie. I do use canned pumpkin, but it's organic, and I use organic half and half instead of evaporated milk--that tastes so much better. 

And then tomorrow morning I'll bake a batch of whole wheat rolls. 

So my dinner plate will be: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetarian stuffing, all topped with my cranberry sauce. Plus a green vegetable. Pie for dessert. 

Giving Thanks

Number One on my list is, of course, my two wonderful boys. No longer boys, but young men who make me proud. I love them more than anyone. 

My friends, who are not only wonderful, interesting people, but they are people who knows what it takes to be a good friend. They are part of my family, and I trust them implicitly. 

My dear dog, Constant, has a place in my heart second only to the boys and my closest friends. 

My work, both my cancer blog and my jewelry-making. Work gets me out of bed in the morning. Work makes me feel useful. 

My garden, although it's dormant right now.

That's a pretty good list!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment below. 

A footnote: Do we have a word for the day before Thanksgiving, like we do for Christmas, Christmas Eve? The friday after is Black Friday, of course, a day that I hate, but I show how I feel about that by refusing to shop on that day. Remember last year? 

Jeanne Sather 2009.

Comments

[Ethel Steadman]

I am thankful for being alive this Thanksgiving! It's been quite a year, this 10th one as a cancer survivor.
Have a good one, Jeanne!
And thanks for all you do.

[Karla]

Jeanne, I'm thankful for people like you. Thankful you made it through another hospital ordeal (sorry about that), that you celebrated another birthday and are about to celebrate another Thanksgiving. I'm so glad.

Your being here and doing this blog has done so much to help counteract the pink-ribbon madness and help save my sanity. I cannot be the only one. I love the fact that reporters now contact you when doing stories about Breast Cancer Awareness Month and include your viewpoint. I love how more and more of them are doing critical articles on it. I think you are largely to be credited for that. There was a time when saying so much as one negative thing about it was considered taboo and gauche and disrespectful, but no more. You have been one of the key people pointing out how critical we need to be of the hype we get fed and how disrespectful it is to dress up an ugly disease to make it look pink and pretty.

I wish you the best of success with your new surgery. It sounds like you found the right doctor for you. I look forward to finding out how it goes.

For now, though, put it all aside and just enjoy. It's a day for that. Happy Thanksgiving!

[jeanne Sather]

At 10:30 Thursday morning, the cranberry sauce is done. The pumpkin pie is in the oven. And the rolls are still rising.

Will I make it in time? Sure hope so.

Thank you all.

[Julie Mason]

Jeanne - as Canadians, we've already celebrated thanksgiving a few weeks ago, but had to join in say how thankful I am to have found you on the net. Not only does it feel like having a dear friend who "gets it," but my beautiful granddaughters have Jeanne original bracelets to wear on festive occasions.
Thanks for everything you do. It makes such a difference.

[Megan Jones]

Dear Jeanne-

I'm thankful for you! Although I don't comment a lot, I read your blog everyday, and I look forward to hearing your "voice". You improve my quality of life! In the next month I, too, may be receiving cyberknife. I'll put a really good face on this and say...we can be Cyber-Sidekicks! ;)
All the best,
Megan