Another Thanksgiving is upon us.  Our son is now 3, and this is his 3rd Thanksgiving.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving with him (and our families) one more time, this is what we are thankful for this year:

1. Social Media: Honestly, I don’t know how we used to keep up with useless trivia before.  Thank goodness we have so many various platforms on which to shout at the top of our lungs about Rene Zellwegger’s face, Kim Kardashian’s rear end and whether this person’s baby is cuter than that person’s (answer: “cute” is in the eye of the beholder).

2. CNN: Sometimes it’s not enough to know the bad news of the day.  Sometimes you have to take that bad news and turn it inside out and upside down and look at it up close and personal and keep looking at it for so long till the thing you’re talking about loses all meaning whatsoever. So, thank you CNN for doing that for us so we don’t have to (and a special side note of thanks to Fox News for making fake news so, er, um, interesting).

3. Racism: I know. I know.  You’re thinking “what are you crazy? Why are you thankful for racism?” Well, I’ll tell you why.  It’s because racism’s adherents (e.g., racists) can’t help themselves.  They need to speak up.  They feel compelled to spew forth.  And, thank goodness they do.  That way we know exactly who they are and we can do something about it (cue the ominous, Darth Vader music, but then fade to a picture of Congressman John Lewis being a bigger person).

4. Clean Air and Clean Water: What?! Are you kidding me?! Why should we be thankful for something that’s just there . . . and free no less?  I’ll tell you why.  Did you watch the last election?  The U.S. Congress is now made up of people who would gladly hand the keys of the country over to the Koch Brothers to do what they want with it, so that some other “entrepreneurial free-marketeer, GOP-friendly business type” (aka a heavyset, middle-aged White guy with porcine, Pink cheeks, a slight Southern drawl and a tendency to lower his voice when he talks about “them” people) can sell us bottled air and water and make his real fortune by selling that stuff to the U.S. Government all while going on and on and on about how we need to cut government spending and get rid of all the people getting a free ride.

5. “Snovember” “Snowpocalypse” and assorted other weather anomalies: Yes, I know this one seems crazy too.  But, then, look a little deeper. See it turns out that extreme snow and ice events in the Winter are actually a symptom of climate change and global warming.  So, while you’re out there shoveling yourself out from under 17 feet of snow that just fell on Miami, remember, you could just keep burning coal, fracking, and voting Republican, or you could decide to do something for your kids, grandkids, and greatgrandkids and walk somewhere, put solar panels on your house, lobby your representatives to “Go Green” and otherwise just do your civic duty.

So, that’s what we’re thankful for this year.

Oh, and one another thing — we’re really thankful for our cruddy little apartment that is the size of a shoebox diorama.  Because at least we have a dwelling in which to live, which, very unfortunately, is more than a lot of people.

And, we’re thankful that we have jobs because, again, a lot of people don’t have those either.

And, we’re really thankful that we have our health because health care costs are no joke and being sick or injured sucks big time.

And, finally, we’re especially thankful for our friends and family because even though you guys are really annoying sometimes, and don’t understand that sometimes we don’t want you to offer a solution we just want you to listen, and don’t comprehend that the reason we don’t visit more often is that the airlines charge full fare for a toddler so flying to your home (even though it’s “so close”) is still gonna cost the equivalent of the GDP of Bolivia, we still love you very much.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you.  And, Happy Thanksgiving!