By G. E. Shuman
November is a month, here in the north, of settling in, of
staying put, and of thinking thoughts of the soon-coming winter. For me, any
spare time in October was spent doing the chores which make November’s settling
in possible, like getting air conditioners put away, leaky doors fixed, and
windows locked up tight in this hundred-plus year-old home of ours.
Leaves from our two huge maples are faithful to cover the
lawn each autumn, and always get raked away, just before the rakes, themselves,
get put away and replaced by snow shovels under the carport. Each year I spend
some time making sure the snow blower still starts, and is greased up, fueled
up, and ready for the weather to come. I don’t mind doing these chores that
make my home as efficient and comfortable as possible when the harsh weather
really hits.
I always get a bit contemplative at
this tucked-in holiday season, especially, it seems, in the past few years.
This old house is not full of family and their belongings as it once was.
Sometimes that is a difficult thing for me to think about.
I tend to be something of a night owl and am thankful for the
chance to fill some late evening hours with writing to you, dear readers. So,
thank you for easing those hours, and for the chance to express a few thoughts
that many of us ‘northerners,’ even though we may be strangers, likely still
share.
Even now, as I sit here in silence, it is cold outside the
windows of this house on the hill, and it is very dark out there. The winds of
one more late fall evening beat against the aging glass panes, but fortunately,
those winds have always stayed on the outside of this place. For this I am
thankful. Indeed, it is quite warm in here, and cozy, tonight. The furnace
works well, and there is enough fuel, although, sometimes, I still light the
fireplace as I did when the kids were young, just because.
All this contemplation is not a sad
thing to me, but is, sometimes, a chance for reflection on the things my wife
and I have done this year, and, reaching back further, the things we have done
throughout all the years that we have lived in this place. (Obviously, without
her, there would be no ‘we,’ and likely, by now, not even a ‘me.’) We were so
blessed to raise five tremendously talented children in this old place, for
which I am, truly, thankful. Those five amazing people are as diverse as any
five children could ever be, and I would still do anything at all for any one
of them.
I have been, truly and unquestionably, very blessed. Having a
beautiful, faithful, Christian wife, wonderful children and grandchildren, and
a warm home to share with them all makes for quite a life. What more could a
man ask for?
I am not at all sure why the words
that have assembled on my computer screen this evening have done so as they
have. When I write, that is often the case. I think, tonight, it is just
because I cannot help but tell you that I am very thankful for my life, and for
the people in it; for what I have, and for what I have had. I hope you feel the
same way about your life, too.
Unless you are a member of my family, or of my small group of
friends, I do not know anything about your beliefs. In any case, I will let you
know mine. I believe very much in God, in His Son Jesus, in our nation, and in
family. I also believe it is important to recognize and to be grateful for, all
that we have in the cornucopia of a country that we share, especially in this
contemplative, settled-in time of year.
I hope you will take a few minutes, as the
holidays approach, not to stop and smell the roses, as there are few roses
outside right now, but to stop and sense the fullness of what your life is, and
of what you have experienced, so far. And, in a word, to be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
(Note: The author invites you to view his novels, “A Corner
Café” and the second edition of “The Smoke and Mirrors Effect” at Amazon.com.
Both books are available on Kindle, in paperback, and soon will be in hard
cover. “George’s World” is also now in paperback.)
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