Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  Although I live in Canada, I am American, and this is my favorite holiday of the year.

This year I’m even happier than usual.  I was scheduled for chemo yesterday, so I should be pretty sick and miserable right now.  However, my blood counts were too low, so we’re going to try again tomorrow.  That means I get this bonus day to relax and enjoy myself.  I am one happy camper!  I am curled up in bed with my precious Holly dog.  The fireplace is going, and I’m drinking cinnamon coffee.  I’m set to watch all three hours of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — something I have done since childhood.  I don’t have a lot of happy memories that involve my mother, but watching the parade together is one of them.

Yesterday, two darling friends came over to help with the Christmas decorations.  They got the lights on the tree for me — a job my tired, achy body just wasn’t up to this year.  They also brought dinner, including dessert.  I am so grateful.  It was wonderful to see them, and their help made an enormous difference.

We’ll be eating some of the food they brought for dinner tonight, as we ended up going out with another friend yesterday evening.  This woman is amazing.  She remembers extraordinarily many details about a myriad of people because she truly cares.  She uses all the details the way an artist uses a paintbrush, so she is a fascinating story-teller.  She is a high school history and geography teacher, and I imagine her classes must be magical.

All in all, this is shaping up to be an extraordinarily thankful Thanksgiving.  I am surrounded by so many loving friends, my precious husband and my beautiful doggies.  I got CT results this week, and the lymphoma in my lymph nodes is shrinking dramatically.  (There is a new nodule in my lung, and the lesions on my liver haven’t changed, but we don’t even know if they are cancerous, so we’re just going to watch and wait with those.)

As I lie here in hedonistic comfort, I can’t help thinking that life doesn’t get much better than this.  For all those who make my life the joyous celebration that it is, I give thanks to you and for you.  Happy Thanksgiving!!