Have a Happy Thanksgiving… by Being Thankful

As all of us in the United States clearly know, this coming Thursday is a big day – Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day – the traditional North American holiday to give thanks at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. Indeed, Thanksgiving is a special time… a special day – it was not by accident that in all of my contemporary romance novels (My Sweetpea: Seven Years and Seven Days, Fear of Feeling Loved, and If Ever Again… It’ll be for Love) on or around Thanksgiving Day some kind of significant and meaningful relationship event occurs between the two main characters.

In addition to celebrating the here-to-for harvest thankfulness, this also is a time when most people pause to be thankful for what they have in their own personal lives in general. This is one day when the glass is half-full (versus half empty). I know that I will reflect on those things for which I am extremely thankful.

In my personal life, I have a wonderful, loving and supportive family. In fact, I’m pulling out early Wednesday morning (in my Jeep – too far and to many toys to bring with me for the motorcycle) to drive to Lizella, Georgia (a one blinking-light town just outside of Macon). At my son’s house, my family will be convening for more than just special food and beverage – it’ll be a time for catching up on the details of our individual lives and sharing, not to mention the cajoling and teasing that always translate into hardy belly laughs. My two cats, Schatzi and Juanita, allow me to live in their lovely and cozy house on the Intercoastal Waterway in St. Pete Beach, Florida. I have a terrific cadre of friends, teammates on my Men’s League team and my Co-Ed League team, workout buddies at the gym, and caring and supportive neighbors.

In my professional life, I am equally blessed. While my license as a psychologist currently is in inactive status, I see a few couples locally on a pro bono basis (okay, sometimes they pay for my coffee). At the University of South Florida (Tampa campus), I immensely enjoy my colleagues and students, and teach graduate courses in individual and marital counseling and psychotherapy. Basically, “I get paid to do what I enjoy doing.” And in terms of my scholarship activities, two weeks ago my two friends and colleagues and I received a contract from Charles C. Thomas, Publisher for a book that we expect to be published next summer: Employee Assistance Programs: Wellness/Enhancement Programming, 4^th Edition, by Michael A Richard, William G. Emener and William S. Hutchison, Jr. Two days ago, another good friend and colleague and I received a contract from Nova Science Publishers for a book that we expect to be published next fall: Adult Loving Relationships, 2^nd Edition, by William G. Emener and William A. Lambos.

Tell me I don’t have a lot to be thankful for on Thursday!

To all of my family, friends, colleagues, teammates and blogger buddies – Happy Thanksgiving!

Bill