What are You Thankful For?

Kids, this time of year really makes you think.  Or at least it does, for me.  I thought I'd take a second and sit down and really think about what tomorrow is supposed to be about. 

I don't think it's been much of a shock to anyone reading this or who has lived in the Sedalia area to know  that......well, I've had a bad year.  Personally it was a bit rough because I went through a breakup, and then a big move, there were some changes here at the Stations,  and then there was the Mark Twain fire.  I don't think I have to remind anyone how terrible that was.   It was very hard to lose my pets, all the things that my late Mother and late Grandmother had given me (who I lost within a shortish span of each other), not to mention everything I'd ever owned, and start all over again.   I don't have much left of Mom's things, but I suppose losing it all makes me hold on to her memory a little harder.
 

 
But now, I have a new place, a fresh start, and a new outlook.  I've still got my great family.   My sister and her family were great, my cousins have all been super, and of course I've got the best Father a girl could ask for.  Still to this day I'll find little things he's doing for me just because (he came over and put 32 bottles of water in my fridge the other day).  It probably doesn't hurt that he makes a kickass Harley Santa.

I've got a very supportive workplace that's been a great foundation for me. My friends have been amazing, sending me copies of pictures and different things they've saved over the years.  My friend Heather made me a quilt.

And sure, that's practical.  But I also randomly got some awesomeness from my friend Jim, who I've known for about 15 years.

Yes, that is an autographed picture of Andrew McCarthy from his time in the 80's movie Mannequin.  Your guess is as good as mine. It just felt right, I suppose.

I've been lucky to live in a community like Sedalia, where there were so  many who came out of the woodwork and really went out of their way to reach out to me and help.  And not just me, but all the others from Mark Twain, too.  Listeners called, sent cards and letters, and sometimes just sent things they thought I might need.  A listener named Sherry just gave me a Nintendo Wii and some other things I might just want.  Another listener named Angela gave me a computer desk and a desktop computer.  Susan from Fringe gave me a table.  People I didn't even know would just stop me in the store and ask if I was alright.    LeMaire's didn't let me pay for a dinner.  St Paul's Lutheran Church gave us all so many needed things, and then followed up again and again with us to find out what else they could do.  Dale and Duke's & Boots had a huge fundraising drive, and he and his whole staff made sure they did whatever they could for me.  So many, many people wanted to help, tried to help.... it was shocking to me to think so many people really cared.

And now, I'm really getting on the track to starting over. I've got a new apartment, a little kitten, and a start on the future.  I've got a new relationship, where I'm very happy and grateful for the care I'm shown on a day to day basis.  I'm continually surprised by how wonderful this man is to me, and just today he demonstrated that again by showing up at the studio unexpected.  He came by, brought me flowers and got my apartment key so he could go make me dinner.

So, I'm thankful.  I'm healthy, I'm not completely broke, and I'm surrounded by love.  Not to sound too gushy, but it's just amazing.  I think that life sometimes just.... puts you through terrible times so you can come through it a better person.  I hope I'll live up to that potential.

Furthermore, I hope that all of you are as happy and healthy as you can be, and that while I would never wish my misfortune on you..... I hope you can come to the same kind of state of gratitude that I'm realizing today.

Isn't that what Thanksgiving's all about?

Thankfully yours,
Behka