I enjoy Thanksgiving. It's the one holiday where there's no pressure to give presents or act in a certain way. It's about giving thanks and being grateful for what you have.   I sat around the table last Thursday looking at my family. Although everyone wasn't there, it was nice. I looked at my Mom and hoped this wasn't the last one she'll see. I'm not even sure she'll remember this in a couple days when I see here again. But no matter, we are here....breathing, alive and for the most part, enjoying each other while eating some delicious food.  

My favorite type of reading (or listening to CDs, as the case may be) is a good biography about the life of an interesting person. Recently I finished those of Whitey Bulger and Oprah and I'm now reading about my former Syracuse classmate Lou Reed. 

Last week I heard a psychologist on the radio talk about how stressful Thanksgiving has become. She focused on the difficult choices people have to make about where to be for the holiday.  As families grow, in-laws, and other complications lead to impossible choices and conflicts. I think that thanksgiving includes understanding and forgiveness. Most importantly, in the words of the Rolling Stones...

Sometimes the most wonderful things can happen. Monday night I had the great good fortune to attend a screening of West Side Story, one of my all time favorite films.

  I think I have been in denial about winter coming to New York. It has been so warm recently that it just didn’t seem like this weather change was coming.

  A friend asked me to look at a text conversation on her phone last week. She thought it was funny and wanted to share it with me.  

There sure is a lot of bad news these days. Lots of killings - Paris, Israel, Mali. It is a pretty scary world. And some of the ideas about how to deal with it can be pretty scary too. Especially from you know who.   It's important to remember the good things, even if they don't make headlines. After all, this is the time of year to be grateful.  

A lot can happen in a moment...joy, sadness, excitment, pain, happiness, worry, stress, peacefulness...   Since my "insult" 8 months ago the most common question I'm asked is "Has the experience changed you in any way?"   Other than living with the trauma, I believe I am more in the moment. Of course other stuff gets in the way but I'm more likely to be present these days. It sounds cliche but the precisousness of life is something to be acknowledged and honored rather than pushed aside because you are in the pursuit of whatever goal you have.