“What are you thankful for, Mrs. Guinn?” Asked the roving reporter for the school newspaper.
   
“June, July, and August.” I quickly replied.

Imagine my chagrin when the Thanksgiving edition of the paper came out and I found that all of my co-workers had the foresight to answer in a more teacherly way with sanctimonious answers such as,

“I’m thankful for my wonderful class filled with perfect students who always do their homework and never get in trouble on the playground for chasing squealing girls around with a dog poop covered twig.”

With that in mind, I present my list of;

 Things I Am Thankful For:
OK, of course I am thankful for my family and friends.  Isn’t everyone?  Oh, wait a minute.  I do know a couple of people who aren’t that thankful for their families, but, well, we won’t go into that.  It’s the holiday season after all.

I’m thankful for TiVo, having the ways and means to travel, show tunes, the commercials during the Superbowl, daffodils, hardware stores, the songs of Leonard Cohen, home grown tomatoes, feather boas, puppies and babies, (in that order), digital everything, spinach salad, John Irving’s books, choirs singing, caller ID, changing seasons, convertibles, (although I crashed mine and had to get a sensible car), loopity-loop roller coasters, tap-dancing, (The sound of someone saying “5, 6, 7, 8!” Just gets me going.), butter, Ancestry.com, and my computer, which allows me to accidentally do so many things.  (As I have stated before, everything new I do on a computer is by accident.)

Even though a husband comes under the heading of family, mine needs a special paragraph when it comes to the thankful agenda.
I am thankful that he takes care of me, and as we all know, I definitely need taking care of.  I have noticed that when couples are on cruises, while waiting in the holding center for off-ship excursions, the one holding the tickets is the caretaker of the duo.  I NEVER hold the tickets.  I wonder what happens if two people who need watching after get married.  Do they wander in some foreign country, lost, and wondering where their passports went?
 I am thankful for the financial decisions that he made over my protests.  We don’t have to depend solely on our teacher’s retirement because he didn’t listen to me.  (I didn’t think I was ever going to be this old.) 
(Actually, I still don’t think I am.)
I am thankful that he has always given me things I ask for.  I am also thankful that he doesn’t ask me why I never practice playing that guitar that I wanted and he got for me.  
I am thankful that he always reminds me to bring a jacket, wear the right shoes, and not to leave my purse anywhere, even though it sounds as if he’s being such a father.  He’s a good man.
I’m thankful that he always has my ticket.