November 22, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ava Grace Vineyards: Pinot Grigio

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope this blog finds you enjoying the day with the family you choose and with a heart filled with love.

I have so much to be grateful for this year.  Another book is on the shelves of bookstores and online everywhere.  This blog continues to gain readers.  Over a tough summer, I’ve found friendships that hold to the test of troubling times.  In my day job, I have the best staff I’ve ever been blessed with.

As I write this, a week before the day it will post, I also realize at some point on Thanksgiving I’ll probably be whining in the quiet of my own mind about how much I’d like to go home.  I’ll forget how lucky I am to have a family (two families) to spend a holiday with.

What I won’t forget this holiday is the gratitude of a happy blood test.  My yearly trip to the specialist who keeps tabs on my lupus was a good one this month.  While I expected my test to come back bad (stress can cause worsening symptoms of lupus), this year they came back with lower RNP Antibodies numbers than they’d been since my first diagnosis.

That might not mean much to you, but to me, it’s a step toward a clean(er) bill of health.  Maybe, just maybe, after seven active years of the disease, I might see remission one day in my future.  For now, I’ll be grateful for what I have.

Marilyn Monroe said, “And sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”  I thought this summer was going to break me.  What I didn’t know in July was that come November, my business and my life would be so much better than it ever was.  I also have gratitude for all the chaos of the last five months.  Without it, I never would have realized what kind of amazing people, customers, staff members, and community I have.

As I drink this Pinot Grigio, and contemplate a honey baked ham (since I don’t eat turkey if I can avoid it), I encourage all of you to find the diamonds in the dirt.  The smell of citrus, lemon, and pears remind me of the warmth of springtime.  The sweet bodied flavor and finish of mineral reminds me of sitting at my favorite Panama City Beach restaurant, Runaway Island, watching a wedding on the beach with my sister while we enjoy dinner.

Thank you for everything, 2018.  Sincerely.  I have no regrets.  The holiday season promises joy, happiness, laughter, and prosperity.  Thank you for an incredible ride so far.