Happy Thanksgiving! Be Thankful for all Things by Vonnie Davis.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you all. Calvin and I will be in Maryland with my sons, their ladies and grandkids, enjoying the holidays and a week away from writing.

I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like, especially with all the contract deadlines. Steve, my older son, is a vice-principal at a middle school in Maryland, father of two, and just recently got his fifth degree black belt or Master status in karate. He's a bass player and, in Mom's opinion, an awesome singer. Are you as prejudiced about your children as I am about mine?

My youngest son, who still allows me to call him "my baby boy" is the safety manager of Volvo in Maryland, father of one, and elementary school wrestling coach. Both of my sons work security for the Washington Redskins and sometimes for the Baltimore Ravens. College costs are looming for them both as their kids are in senior high school.

I also have a daughter living in Indiana and Calvin has a son in Berlin, Germany. Yes, the kids are spread far and wide, but they're healthy with full lives. But enough of Mother talk, even though it's that time of the year to express our gratitude for all things large and small. Calvin and I find our lives incredibly blessed. I hope yours is, too.

Our blessings are everywhere, aren't they? I've been getting monthly shots in my retina. No fun, but I'll be blessed with sight longer. I've been busy writing, sometimes to the point of mental exhaustion, but I love the process. Even though I confess to getting weary. Sometimes when I reach the end of a book, I can barely form a complete sentence. I mumble and sleep.

Calvin's been waking up with numb, tingling fingers. He can't button his shirts, so I buy him ones with quarter zippers. We make do, knowing things could be worse with his diabetes. Compared to so many, our health issues are minor. I hope yours are even smaller or non-existent.

Do you have traditions for the holidays? My daughter-in-law, the organizer, emailed her menu out to everyone two weeks ago. Tina always places three kernels of corn on our plates. Before grace is said, we go around the table and state something we're thankful for as we remove each kernel of corn. Mike silently goes for the box of tissues and sets them beside Tina. She scowls and says she won't need them, but invariably she does. She's fine until she gets to the "being a mother" part. She can't have children. Mike had custody of Ryan when they married, so in her words she got this incredible husband and a chance to be a Mom to an eight-year old.

Ryan is now a senior in high school, sending off college applications and I'm not sure who's more upset he's growing up--Mike, Tina, or Grandma. He's our math and science geek. When kids make fun of him in school, he just laughs. He wears the title proudly. MIT or Caltech are his main goals.

I've shared a smidgen of my life. Small and large things I'm thankful for. I hope your list of blessings are as precious to you as mine are to me.

Have a love-filled holiday, everyone.






Read more about Vonnie Davis at www.voniedavis.com