Happy Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is typically a North American holiday. We do it here in the States, and our northern neighbors have one of their own up in Canada. I don't think it's a completely North American concept, though. (We may have started it, but it doesn't have to end with us.)

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may have the idea I don't quite think in the same terms as most people. This isn't an exception. I don't think of Thanksgiving as a day to sit around being grateful or thankful. I think of it as a day to celebrate man's ability to achieve. (Mr. Gary Hull of the Ayn Rand Institute explains it better than I do in his essay Thanksgiving: The Producer's Holiday - "This holiday is designed to celebrate, not faith and charity, but thought and production.")

So, in honor of this concept, let's talk about what we've produced this year, and celebrate our abilities.

It's been a banner year for me writing-wise. In a little over a year I've completed the first drafts of three manuscripts, done numerous edits on the first of those so it's almost finished-finished, finished polishing my first book, and submitted both to my first literary journals and my first contest. I think over the past year I have really grown as a writer, and I know my writing shows vast improvement over the work I was producing even a year ago. This year I also got my first Critique Partner. In this past year I started this blog, as well as my other two: my new brand-name blog Tabula Rasa and the lesser-known, almost-forgetten (even by me) Home Ed Musings. I've made a great deal of friends and acquaintances in the blogosphere, and I treasure them all. :waves: Through this making friends and networking, I joined The Novel Racers which has swelled to its maximum capacity of 40 racers.

It's been a pretty good year for me personally as well. (Only pretty good because every year a little rain has to fall, and we had a couple bum spots - like moving again.) My family's been pretty healthy, fairly happy and generally well adjusted. My daughter made the state spelling bee last spring. My husband excels at his job, as always. And the cat who topped out at 14.5 pounds looks like she's lost a little weight (thanks to the kitty stair-master - which basically means this house has two floors and her kid lives upstairs while her food lives downstairs). Over this past weekend, one of my nieces got married - the first one of the gaggle of grandkids to take the plunge. Another niece, who is a single mother, took a plunge of her own and moved out of her parent's house to live life as an independent person. My oldest nephew got engaged to a wonderful woman, bought a house and decided to take night classes to get his Masters degree. From what I hear, the family business my father started in 1983 and which is now run by my brother is doing well - selling lots and spec'ing in new products all the time. Dad would be so proud.

So, lots of productivity going on in my little world. Like I said, it's been a good year. For those things in my control, I've tried to make it good. Sometimes that's all you can do.

How has your year gone so far? What achievements would you like to celebrate?