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First Posted: 11/23/2013

My hair’s mostly gone, my stomach’s grown soft

but I’ve found I don’t look too fat

in the right sport coat, or loose fitting shirt,

and, you know, I’m thankful for that.

For that and so many little things

I’m thankful more than you know.

Those things that make life worth living,

like full moons, gentle breezes, even snow.

Well, maybe not snow as I ponder the thought.

Just a little at Christmas will do

quite nicely, followed by an early spring thaw.

I’d be thankful for that, wouldn’t you?

I’m thankful for children, every single one

‘specially those who in church amuse me

when I should be paying attention or praying.

I just hope the Good Lord will excuse me.

I’m thankful for family and friends, of course,

but does that really have to be said?

Instead, I’m thinking of more random things

such as fruits that are colored red.

For strawberries, raspberries, apples and cherries,

I thank Thee so, my Lord.

For creating us with mouths for tasting

then providing such a smorgasbord.

My late sister taught me to sing God’s praises

as a way of getting to sleep.

Start thanking Him, she said, and the list never ends.

It’s much better than counting sheep.

I took her advice and even gave it a title.

“Thank You Therapy” is its name.

If you will give it a try on this very night,

I guarantee your life won’t be the same.

There’s no trick to it; all you must do

is pick any topic and start.

Thank God for whatever pops into your head

and you’ll wind up with a thankful heart.

Start with the turkey, as good a place as any.

Be thankful for such a treat.

Then thank God for the stuffing, the cranberries, the potatoes,

the mashed as well as the sweet.

But don’t stop there with your thankfulness.

Let yourself get carried away.

Thank God for the butcher, the farmer, the baker.

Thank everyone who helped make this day.

Take nothing for granted, a dear friend taught me.

You’re so lucky just to have clean water.

If you don’t thank God after every hot shower,

perhaps from now on, you oughter.

I’m thankful for my readers, all you kind folks,

who put up with these ramblings of mine,

who I know will forgive a mistake here and there,

even that last horrible rhyme.

All my prayers are thank yous, said another friend

now gone to his eternal rest.

“I just thank the Lord,” he’d always say,

“I never make a request.”

I’m thankful to live here in Northeast PA,

where most of my life has been spent

amongst the mountains, fields, rivers and streams

and people who are Heaven sent.

Here in this valley where our ancestors toiled

we’ve so much to be thankful for:

the seasons, the churches, the schools, the gardens,

the traditions, and so much more.

Then there’s my children, young adults now

who have filled my life with joy.

From the moment they arrived they’ve been my whole life

this little girl and this little boy.

And I’m thankful for Mary Kay, my wife, my buddy

who hates her name being mentioned

in anything I write here on page 2

regardless of how well intentioned.

So, my dear sister was right as she so often was:

the words “thank you” are what we should say

at the beginning and end of every prayer we pray

and not only on Thanksgiving Day.