In the fall of 1621 A group of Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians sat down to celebrate the first harvest. After a winter of almost starvation it was time to celebrate and acknowledge friendship.  In 1863 Abraham Lincoln officially declared the third Thursday of November, Thanksgiving.

I have been pondering giving thanks over the past three weeks. Someone recently said that giving thanks is putting gratitude into action. I like the sound of that statement. It resonated within me when it was said. Yet, can I be grateful without giving thanks? Can I give thanks without feeling grateful. I believe the answer is yes to both of these questions. When you bring gratitude and thankfulness together, it becomes a powerful and more complete experience.

This week is Thanksgiving. Many of us will sit down to the traditional turkey dinner. We will celebrate with family and friends and maybe a few strangers.

My Thanksgiving is going to be celebrated in the desert. My friend Nancy and I are heading to the beautiful Anza Borrego State Park to camp, hike and celebrate. I hope to relax a bit, too.

This blog is titled Journeys of Thankfulness. Each day I find that I am thankful for at least one thing. This blog has helped me remember to bring thankfulness and gratitude into my life, daily.

Here a few things that Elsie the Cat and I are thankful for this year.

• All of you that follow our adventures. Your comments and sharing moments have helped give me good insight. You have made me feel loved and cared for by people I have, often, never met.
• My Roadtrek (RV) that takes me on adventures with a sense of comfort and ease. I love a bed to sleep on at night.
• I am so thankful for chiropractors this year. There was one horseback ride to many last spring.
• Elsie has been such a buck it up kitty and adjusts to most situations with a lot of ease. I am glad she is my traveling companion.
• My friends locally have continued to love and support me. I am so thankful for their on-going presence in my life. I am also very grateful that I am able to find friends that are willing to go on mini-adventures with me.
• My father instilled a sense of adventure in me. When we traveled as a family we often explored the back roads. We stayed in some interesting places at night.

• Super balls. This is Elsie, I love those small super balls. Janet just bought me a whole bag full. I can’t wait to play with them, under the couch, the chairs and the furniture. It is fun to watch Janet lay down on the floor and get them all back out again.
• I am glad that I continue to grow and change through one of the hardest transitions of my life.
• I am grateful for the silent presence of Jim in my life. I am learning how to keep his love and move on all at the same time.
• I wish I could say I was thankful for the state of the world. It is hard to figure out gratitude when so many suffer. I can’t be thankful for the pain and sorrow yet I can be thankful that there are organizations and individuals who reach out to those in need and help, even when it involves danger.
• Lastly I am grateful for a day where I can celebrate gratitude with friends and strangers alike.

Elsie and I want to wish each and everyone of you a Happy Thanksgiving. If you don’t celebrate this day, well we don’t care. We are wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving any way. Elsie says to go out and play with some super balls. You will feel better.

Today and all this week and forever I am thankful for each and every person, who I know now and who I have yet to meet. Happy Thanksgiving.