A Face Full of Thankfulness

A trend on Facebook is to post something you’re thankful for every day throughout November. There’s another November Facebook phenomenon alternately called “No Shave November” or “Movember,” in which male participants pledge not to shave for the entire month.

Having sported a mustache, goatee or full frontal beard since the summer after I graduated from CV, “No Shave November” is a non-event for me. On the other hand (cheek?), I do like the idea of deliberately being thankful for something every day.

While there isn’t room here to give all 30 thanks, I would like to note a few, as follows:

I’m thankful for my kids who are now adults, each one pursuing their own unique dream, living (or planning to live) in places distant from their Crescenta Valley roots. Would their mom and I love to have them closer? Absolutely. Would we ever want them to stay local for our sake? Absolutely not.

I’m thankful for five healthy, happy grandkids each one a beautiful blessing beyond measure.

I’m thankful that tomorrow I can “legally” open up our vault of Christmas music and start the annual tacky-music-athon.

As I face the annual “hanging of the lights” ritual (also known as “Dad loses it on a ladder”), I’m thankful that I still have hundreds of spare incandescent Christmas light bulbs on hand. So, hopefully, I won’t have to switch over to strings of those hideously garish, green-no-matter-what-color-they-are, LED abominations for years to come.

I’m thankful for dogs. Big dogs. Manly dogs. My kids call me a “dog dude” which I’m pretty sure is the equivalent of “cat lady.” I’m okay with that.

I’m thankful that (finally) the high profile, disgraced, disgusting and dishonest national politician most in the news this month is not from Washington, DC, but rather, Toronto, Canada. Whew. It’s nice to know that the U.S. doesn’t have a monopoly on stupid.

I’m thankful for love and marriage. Our two unmarried sons are both engaged to wonderful women who make each of them better men in so many ways. One son will be married next May, the other next September. The year 2014 is going to be amazing. Expensive, but amazing.

I’m thankful for the small group of Christian couples my wife and I have been meeting, studying and praying with on Thursday evenings this year. It’s a blessing to grow through life with you all!

I’m thankful for the new mercies I see, morning by morning.

I’m thankful whenever a heat wave breaks and an infrequent low-pressure system gives us a glimpse of what real seasons must be like.

Which reminds me, I’m thankful that I sweated it out and didn’t turn on our air conditioner during our recent So Cal “90s in November” heat wave. Not sure I could’ve handled the depression I’d feel from using a/c so close to Thanksgiving.

I’m thankful our family never started the “Elf on the shelf” tradition at Christmastime. Sorry, that little squatter just creeps me out.

I’m thankful that I replaced our old mailbox just in time for the annual dumpage of catalogs. The poor thing is already experiencing metal fatigue.

I’m thankful that the Winter Olympics begin in only two months. I’m not a sports junkie until either the Tour de France or the Olympics begin. Then you can’t pry me away from the daily coverage.

I’m thankful I don’t feel any compulsion to join the mobs of mall (maul?) shoppers during Black Friday tomorrow. I can’t promise that I won’t be shopping online, however.

Finally, I’m thankful for my wife of nearly 28 years, an impossibly patient and grace-filled woman who somehow tolerates a husband for whom every month is No-Shave-November. Love me, love my fur.

And with that, I wish you and yours a tender turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, good drink and conversation, a warm home and even warmer relationships.

Happy Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you ’round town!

  Jim Chase