Friday Five: Giving Thanks

As suggested by Songbird: “Please tell us five things or people for which you are thankful this year.”

1. Brother Dave
   There's no question my older sibling and I are very different people. There's also no question that we each have inherited different qualities from Padre. There are some of Padre's qualities we hold in common – thoughtfullness, political and social liberal, integrity, and melancholia. Lastly, there's no question there is sincere brotherly affection between us, and mutual respect.


2. Dame Julian
   a.k.a., her royal catness, fierce wild beast, furry fiend (et al)
   My house is less lonely with her charming companionship. There is little so homey and comforting as a cat purring in your lap in the evening.


3. Friends, such as Pam, Ben, and Mary T. (not an exhaustive list).
• Pam has proven to be a good friend practically from the day I joined our shared church. She knows how to poke my ego with just the right amount of tenderness. She knows how to be supportive. She's got a good ear, and is also willing to share (to an appropriate degree).


• My musical collaboration with Ben is a positive experience. It's heartening we made some money at our first gig, and the coffee house owner looks forward to our return. We are mutually respectful, which means a lot to me. I recently expressed the opinion that I thought our instrumental abilities were about equal (about a 5 on a scale of 10), when I was surprised to learn Ben holds my own abilities in higher esteem than his own.


• Mary T. has been a friend since 1999. She's supportive, and was one of the few non-church-going friends to show up for the gig last week.


4. Warm bed
   I've been working on a song titled "I Fought the Bed, and the Bed Won", inspired by the fact that it's been a little harder to get out of bed on these chilly mornings. I've got a blanket, comforter, and – sometimes – a warm kitty cat.
   
   Sample verse: "My feet are chilly, and the room is cold
   The day has just begun;
   Don't call me lazy,
   Don't call me old...
   I fought the bed, and the bed won;
   I fought the bed, and the bed won."


5. Talent/Giftedness
   I perceive that I am talented in a number of areas - primarily writing and singing. This is not to say I'm accomplished in either.
      I have a pleasant, but untrained, voice. I haven't done anything to deserve my voice. At most, I've done my best to take care of it (I quit smoking over 20 years ago), and to stretch my capabilities without straining the instrument.
      As for my writing, I recognize this talent through others' eyes. Based on the response I've received in the comments on this site, and in person, many people appreciate how I put words together.
      I don't mean to be falsely modest. I struggle to find that middle ground between recognizing where I am gifted, and taking credit for those gifts. "All good gifts," says the Apostle, "come from above." In other words, these talents are just areas in my personality that the Spirit has set a spark.