Today is the last day of November and I have been remiss in posting why I am thankful. My friends seemed to have it covered with family, children, friends, sunshine, peace and the likes. I certainly hope I convey my love and thanks to the people in my life on a regular basis so that I don’t need November as a prompt for making a declaration. But here are some things I am extremely grateful for and take for granted on a daily basis. I think I could name one for each day of the month, but that would be terribly long and I think you’ll get the idea. 
Here goes: 
   After long weeks at work I look forward to my Saturday shower. Last week I stood, just stood, under the spray of hot water and let myself bask in its warmth and felt myself relax. I realized I was a little thirsty so I turned my face to the spray and let some of the water fill my mouth and relieved my thirst. That’s when it hit me what a luxury we have and take for granted. Water - you never think about it, but we bathe in it, wash with it, cook with it, drink it, swim in it, water our grass and sometimes just let the water run and play in it. I have been known to use my hose in the summer to wash my driveway on a hot day rather than sweep. We never really think about where it comes from or how it gets to us, and we only rarely have to worry about if it is safe. But over 780 million people in the world DO NOT have access to clean water. I am thankful for water. 

  It’s holiday shopping time and the stores are crowded, which means full parking lots. I have never been one to sit and wait for someone to pull out of a parking spot, or circle the lot looking for an up-close spot. Except that is, when I used to take my mother out. Bless her, my mother was blind and had a leg amputated due to diabetes. Her remaining ankle had been shattered when someone ran a red light and hit her in a cross walk. Her foot was attached to her leg with a steel plate and pins. This gave her very limited mobility. But my legs work. They work even when they are tired. They work even when they are bruised. My knees bend, my feet flex and even when my shoes are too tight, I can walk and climb stairs. I remind myself regularly that God has blessed me with legs that work and don’t sweat parking in the outskirts of the parking lot. I am thankful for legs that work properly. 

  I am thankful that I have never had to go hungry. Sure, there are many times I felt hungry. But I’ve never had to go hungry. I have never had to worry if I would get to eat tomorrow. I have never had to beg for food or scavenge through other people’s scraps. Many times I’ve stood in front of the open refrigerator or cupboard door and thought “we don’t have anything to eat.” But of course, that is never true. There is always something that could be eaten. Just not something that suits my craving at the moment. What a difference. Open a can of green beans for breakfast? Peanut butter on a spoon for dinner? A bowl of white rice or plain pasta as a meal? How ridiculous that we throw away left-overs because we are sick of eating the same thing for more than a couple meals. My friend calls these “first world problems”. I don’t know what it’s like to be truly hungry and I hope I never learn. I am thankful for having food to eat and to feed my family. 

   I am an information junkie. I wonder. I ask questions. I like to know things. I may forget them quickly, but when a question occurs to me, I like to get an answer right away. I like that instant gratification. So I am grateful for the internet and Wi-Fi connections. Social media aside, I absolutely love having the world at my fingertips. I have a hard time disconnecting, not because of the social aspects but because there is so much information out there. Yes, I am aware that much of it is false. Occasionally I am taken in by a false story. But I think I’m a pretty level headed and analytical person and can cut through most of the bull. I can’t imagine not being able to get the answer to my questions instantly any more. I remember when you had to go to the library and search for the answers to your questions. Each question was a lengthy search and sometimes you just never found what you were looking for. Remember when you would change the topic of your research report to fit the information you could find? I have to admit I did that more than a few times. I am in awe of the people who create internet search programs that make it possible to find the right information with just a few key words. I am thankful for the internet. 

  These are just a few of the things for which I am thankful. They are things that I don’t often give much thought. I could certainly list others such as electricity, books, pets, and more. But I think you get the idea. What do you take for granted?