It’s Thanksgiving, a day to show gratitude for the people and events in our life. I am truly grateful for family and friends every moment of every day.

I’m thankful for good health, a roof over my head and a warm bed at night because I know there’s so many who don’t have those comforts.

But as is my way, this column will be about giving thanks for the little things, the sometimes overlooked good things that make every day a little bit easier. If the list makes you smile, I’m thankful for that.

Seat warmers in my car. The vehicle we bought a few years ago had seat warmers. When the salesman pointed out this feature, I laughed. I live in Houston where shorts are the daily attire 10 months out of the year.

But when these cold spells hit, I’ve got the seat warmer cranked up to the highest level it’ll go. My bum has never been happier.

My fridge’s ice maker. There’s a scene in the third “Back to the Future” trilogy when Doc Brown builds a gigantic machine and it churns out one ice cube.

If only Doc could see how much I appreciate sticking my glass in the door of my fridge and instantly being rewarded with either ice cubes or crushed ice.

Many of us remember filling ice cube trays with water and carefully finding a place in the freezer where they wouldn’t tip over.

In a family of seven children, chances were high you’d pull out the tray and find someone had put the tray back without water and, hence, no ice cubes. For that reason alone, I appreciate the automatic system that churns out an entire container of ice overnight.

Leaf Blower. I’m not a big believer in sweeping, especially the patio or front porch. But the first time I turned on a leaf blower and felt that power in my hands, I was hooked.

I remembered when my dad got a leaf blower for Christmas, and he used it to blow all the wrapping paper into one corner of the living room.

He was always quite the inventive one.

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. The first time I looked up a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese, I shut the book and reached for the blue and yellow box in the pantry.

For we baby boomers, nothing beats that orange macaroni and cheese, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup and red Kool-Aid.

Anything by Hostess. I understand Twinkies are nothing but empty calories. Ho-Ho’s aren’t a laughing matter when you realize what that cream filling is doing to your arteries.

Still, I’ll take a Ding Dong over a slice of pumpkin pie any day of the week.

Democratic check-out lines. My hat’s off to the stores who have one line for checking out because the next person in line is the next person called to the cashier.

I have an uncanny knack for getting in the wrong line every single time in the store. Yesterday, I had the chance to get in a longer line, but I took the short line.

The woman in front of me questioned every single item she was buying – could she return it, was that the right price. By the time I realized what she was doing, all the other lines had at least five people in them.

So thank you to the stores who have one line for check out. You get my business and my money.

The pots and pans are washed and put away, and it’s time to settle back on the couch with the remote control, a glass of Kool-Aid and a bowl of Kraft mac and cheese to watch “A Christmas Story.”

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and may the blessings in your life shine on you every day.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.