Welcome to our second annual Reverse Festivus!
With Christmas coming up tomorrow, maybe it’s time for a our second annual Reverse Festivus. Here’s what I wrote in our inaugural Reverse Festivus last year:
It’s been quite the year. Quite the few years, in fact. So much loss, so much stress, so much anxiety, worry, stress, fear, anger, pain and rage. (Yeah, I added stress twice, I think it deserves double-billing.) But some really good things, too.
A lot of that still holds true, and the genocidal war against Ukraine hadn’t even started yet. But we also defied the odds in November, and again on Dec 6, by working our assess off and donating to some really great causes.
What is there to be thankful for? What helps you slog through the hard stuff, day after day?
Here are some of the things I’m grateful for.
As people are getting ready for the holiday, maybe you can pop in and tell us what you’re thankful for.
Or not. Open thread.
Update: I had this scheduled for later, but nothing else is happening in the back room, so I putting this up early.
twbrandt (formerly tom)
On Nov. 29, I had a triple bypass. I’m still recovering from that surgery, but I am enormously grateful that:
1. My condition was fixable. So many people are suffering from medical conditions that aren’t.
2. I live in area (Ann Arbor/Detroit) that has excellent health care systems.
3. I have Medicare Advantage insurance that will cover most of the cost, and the means to cover what insurance won’t.
4. I have a support network of family and friends to help me through this.
zhena gogolia
My husband, our family, our friends, my students, the Democratic Party with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at its head.
Albatrossity
In no particular order: the natural world and its beauty, family and friends (IRL and virtual), health, happiness, an amazing partner in life, and Joe Biden just being himself and making the wingnuts weep.
raven
I’m thankful we found Cookie alive this morning.
Leslie
I am thankful that I have a lot of bio relatives who are also friends whom I enjoy being around. I’m thankful that technology made it possible to sustain connections even during lockdown, and that it enables the existence of places like this blog. I’m thankful for my critters and their endless affection. And I’m extremely thankful for everyone who (genuinely) resisted TFG, and for the current administration.
the pollyanna from hell
I got four cardiac stents at the beginning of this week, and bouncing back fast. Thank you, history and fate, for modern medicine.
eclare
@raven: That is a wonderful thing we can all be thankful for. I did not initially realize how dire the situation was.
And on that note, I am also thankful for the dog snoring on the couch next to me. She was found with two pups on the side of the road. No more.
BSR
I’m grateful that after several aimless years, my son has a new interest in a career that he can be proud of (teaching) and a path forward to get there.
Oh…and modern medicine for diagnosing (and removing) a tumor that had blocked my small intestine. Not that many years ago, something like that would have meant a nasty painful death. So yay for CT scans!
Alison Rose
Well…I don’t want to bring the thread down, but there’s about five horrible things happening in my immediate family right now, so I’ll just say that I’m thankful for this place to give me people to talk to and make me laugh even when I want to fling myself into a volcano.
Thanks, jackals. Most of you, that is.
Oh, and I am also thankful for books. Because sometimes pretending you live even in a terrifyingly dangerous fantasy world is comforting.
Dan B
I could make a long list of things to be grateful for but I keep reminiscing about the Orphans in the Storm gatherings I attended when I first moved to Seattle. It was for transplants and gay guys whose families had rejected them. The camaraderie and good spirits felt like the true Christmas spirit that we had not experienced with family. My family was very accepting right down to the aunts, uncles and cousins but there was something wondrous about these chosen-family gatherings.
pat
I am thankful to live in a part of the country where minus 10 and 25mph winds is not unheard of and we are more or less prepared for it. Keep me out of the south in this terrible cold wave. Brrr….
Also thankful that I have some mirtazapine to rub in his ear that makes Pablo want to eat again. He is really filling out again, he was so skinny….
Keithly
I was successfully treated in September for a non-aggressive form of cancer and am currently cancer-free. Life-saving surgery FTW!
eclare
Lots of people here are thankful for medical treatments, I want to second all of these thanks, as you are still with us!
Leslie
@Alison Rose: Sorry to hear that. I hope things improve in short order.
Shana
I’m thankful that my breast cancer seems to have been caught very early, the spots on each breast were extremely small and that after 3 weeks of radiation followed by medication I should go on to live my life. I’m also thankful for my wonderful hubby who retired this year and the vacations we took around surgeries and happy healthy daughters who seem to still like us even though they’re adults living their lives. Older daughter is coming for dinner in a few minutes.
UncleEbeneezer
In-Laws both survived Covid. Three years in, my wife and I still haven’t gotten it (as far as we know).
Jay
Everytime this year that we were almost homeless, we had a lucky break and managed to squeak by, everytime depression struck hard, we dug out. I am most thankful that I still get to be with T, the love of my life.
Leslie
Oh: music. One of the most wonderful things creativity has ever devised.
Josie
I’m grateful that my youngest son is clean and sober for two years this month and working hard on his music. My other son and his family are happy and healthy and close by to help us when we need it. Duncan the corgi makes me get out of bed in the morning and go on walks most days of the week. My health is good, and I have much to be grateful for; not the least is this community of interesting and generous people that I found years ago.
Suzanne
Spawn the Elder has had an incredibly rough road in life, but he is stable and healthy atm, and even living with friends and holding a job! Holy shit! Has passed 3 out of 4 GEDs. DAMN!
Math Guy
That my wife and I just celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary.
ColoradoGuy
I am so very glad that it’s not 2020. Or 2021. We dodged Covid (at least that’s what the tests said) and have been healthy aside from the usual growing-old things. Our terrier-mix pupper gives us joy every day and is quite a personality. Much to be grateful for.
And it’s sunny outside, with patches of blue sky, and just finished an Indian dinner from the local restaurant. Listening to George Winston on the stereo as my sweetie and the doggo fall asleep listening to the music.
different-church-lady
On one hand, politically things ended much better than predicted, and there’s some legitimate reasons to believe Sauron is getting weaker. For the moment we have good people trying their best to make things right.
But my god it has been a psychologically draining year, in ways large and small. Just an endless, daily cascade of assholeism washing across us all. Just so many people putting so much effort into making things worse. So many unhinged people doing so many unhinged things. So much unnecessary, senseless conflict, both social and physical. My soul is exhausted, and I feel like I have lost any possibility of ever again understanding the world or my place in it.
different-church-lady
@ColoradoGuy:
Amen to that.
Redshift
I’m thankful to have transitioned from cancer patient in follow-up monitoring to cancer survivor. I was already at the “extremely unlikely to recur” stage, but I’m now at “regular CT scans are more of a risk than a recurrence.”
I’m thankful for having this active online community, especially during this time when staying connected to live people is so much more difficult.
As a lifelong space geek, I’m thankful for all the amazing missions and discoveries this year, from the deluge of JWST results to the Artemis mission finally going and being successful. All of the expansion of scientific knowledge I get to read about is heartening and awe-inspiring.
opiejeanne
@raven: Is Cookie a dog? A new dog at your place? I missed it if there was an earlier post about her.
Dangerman
@twbrandt (formerly tom): So much of that for me is “ditto”; my first heart ablation was 2021 (outpatient) and my second was 2022 after a trip to the ER several days prior (meaning, in-patient) where I had a parade of Doctors and Nurses come in to look at my EKG because it was so weird; fortunately, I was in Loma Linda University, one of the best Hospitals around, so I was in the finest of hands.
Speaking of fine hands, I got to thinking this week after Franco Harris passed, how massively lucky I’ve been to watch some amazing display of hands live (well, live on TV). Immaculate Reception? Check. The Catch (Dwight Clark)? Check. Kirk Gibson? Check. Nolan Ryan’s first no hitter? Check. I’ve watched enough ball to have seen much of MJ and Dr. J’s artistry (and if I had first pick in choose a player to build a team around, it’s Magic, every day, easy call). Saw Reggie Jackson’s 500th in person. Followed Tiger and Arnie in person for 18 (the latter being an exhibition up in Seattle; I’m not THAT old). As a Sports Junkie, well, a lot to be thankful for on top of the heart. RIP Franco.
the pollyanna from hell
@different-church-lady: My move to Georgia was incredibly stressful this fall, since I am not rich. My constant anthem was the chorus of the old song:
And I will lift my weary eyes. I’ll lift them up unto the hills. And the help that I have needed Will surely tumble down. I will lift mine eyes unto the hills.
But the verses are too depressing to sing that much.
WaterGirl
@opiejeanne: From raven on an earlier thread:
WaterGirl
@the pollyanna from hell: Are you staying in Georgia?
Ruckus
I’m 73. I’m grateful to have made it this far.
As a youngster I had every disease that everyone I knew also had except 2. I didn’t get polio and I did get encephalitis after/from the measles. I knew/know 4 people that had polio, all of them live/lived within 4 miles of me. The encephalitis affected my growth, which I did basically none of for almost 6 yrs and I showed up in HS, the shortest kid in school. But I grew through HS and continued to for a few yrs after that, so I’m average height now. Thing is, I’m actually rather healthy for my age, even though I have issues that mostly come from age. I’ve had a heart attack, although I didn’t know at the time it happened. I have a brain aneurysm and if I’m lucky it won’t do anything stupid, although it is in my brain so there’s no guarantee that won’t happen. We all go through shit in life, that’s just the way it is. I’ve been/am going through my share, and plan on doing so for a long time to come because that’s life.
schrodingers_cat
I am thankful that I was able to visit India after a long hiatus (because of Trump+Covid).
Dan B
@opiejeanne: Cookie is a neighbor’s old deaf dog who wandered into the Kudzu in Raven’s back yard but got found in time and is recovering under three blankets, nose showing.
Nancy
This thread is a gift. Thank you all.
I am thankful that I was able to leave a toxic work environment in the spring and that people I care about are finding ways to leave also.
I’m in a new setting that feels good and I’m so grateful to be able to do the work I love.
I need cataract surgery and I have oestoarthritis, but compared to what some of you shared, I’m fine. Happy that I can get out of my head and recognize that others are struggling and succeeding and living their lives. Happy for all of you who are surviving and thriving.
And Balloon-Juice is a great thing in my life.
FastEdD
Tuesday morning is the burial service for the love of my life, my partner for over 20 years. Tuesday night it is supposed to start raining and it is not going to let up for over a week. I am grateful for that. Let it wash away my tears.
Sorry to be a bummer. I am so ready to enjoy life again someday.
FelonyGovt
I’m thankful for my family and home and that I live in a place where I could go for a long walk by the beach in 65 degree weather this morning :::ducking::::
And I’m thankful for WaterGirl and the other front pagers and commenters here. This blog is a second home.
the pollyanna from hell
@WaterGirl: Medical emergency in denver interrupting my progress to haul storage contents to the shed I built in summerville.
Bill Arnold
Grateful for the efforts of all those who worked towards the dissipation of a midterm “Red Wave” in the USA, and a 1 seat gain in the Senate, the electoral defeat of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, the defeat of Marine Le Pen by 58.5% to 41.5%, Australia’s political shift left.
The amazing JWST deployment made me teary-eyed proud of humans.
leeleeFL
@different-church-lady: Now, when I feel like that, I remember Zelenskyy’s speech to Congress and I am grateful that the craziness of putting a comedian in their presidential office has worked out so well for the Ukrainian people. He and they were brave to put him there, he was blessed his Grandfather survived BabiYar, we are blessed to have Biden in our White House and supporting Ukraine and all of us! It’s a good year for the most part….we will restore Roe and protect the Dreamers next year!
Nancy Smash is still going to be in Congress and Kevin McCarthy will wilt in her shade! So let it be written, so let it be done!
AliceBlue
I’m thankful for my husband of 36 years and the good health that we both enjoy.
I’m forever grateful for the furbabies, past and present, who have brought so much joy to our lives.
And of course-the front pagers and commenters of Balloon Juice.
Suzanne
@FelonyGovt:
Word to that.
GROUP HUG!!!
Leslie
@FastEdD: I’m so sorry.
kalakal
In no order books, nature, friends, computers, & music. For the ability to communicate instantly across the planet. A special shout out to cats & guitars
White & Gold Purgatorian
I’m thankful for my wonderful husband and my awesome Mom — she is 94 and we are very fortunate she lives next door so we see her every day. I’m also very thankful for the companionship of our cats. And for raised beds, fertile soil, flowers, birds, the damned squirrels, deer, sunshine and rain, vaccines, dedicated nurses and doctors, a good sourdough culture, a hot fire and sturdy stove to contain it. And I am very grateful to John Cole and the people who keep Balloon Juice running. It is an unlikely ray of sunshine in my world. But I refuse to be grateful for groundhogs.
Redshift
@FastEdD: Being a bummer is okay. Do let us know if there’s anything we can do for you.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I’m having trouble posting because as I read this thread, I realize how many things I’m grateful for. My health and that of my family. The quality of Ds in power, and all the things they’ve accomplished this year. Financial security. Friends. My writer group. On and on
leeleeFL
realbtl
I’m grateful the inside of my house is up to 47º after losing power for 5 hours Wed in -32 cold, not helped by following -21 night. But I have a heater in my office and an electric blanket plus the heat is on just slow.
I’m not in Ukraine. Best wishes to those folks.
MomSense
@different-church-lady:
I felt your comment in my bones. This is a fucking terrible time to be an empath.
Baud
So Reverse Fesitvus is like Thanksgiving in December?
Nelle
I am grateful that Iowa DOT shut down I-35 so my beloved but stubborn son couldn’t go to Minnesota as he was determined to do. I’m grateful for his three kids who are so loving to me. Especially grateful for the youngest, who at 5 months smiles more than any baby I’ve ever seen. He grins coming in the house, he grins going out of the house, and if he doesn’t lose some of his charisma, he’s going to have a flock of followers at an early age. His dad was a sunshine baby, but this is ridiculous. And joyful! (My husband’s grandparent duties include napping with small boy every afternoon that he comes to visit. Oh how they both enjoy it.)
cope
Super chuffed that my wife and I are moving back to Colorado after 33 years of Florida life. We’ll be in Boebert’s district but…meh, it just means we can vote against her in two years.
laura
It’s been a hard year for a myriad of reasons and I’ve got a lot to be grateful for- most of all Charley, a fellow who rescued us, from the beagle freedom project. He was a pharma lab dog and despite the misery of his entire three years is as sweet and gentle and loving as ever one could hope a dog could be.
https://youtu.be/3YATi-BzC-U
Ruckus
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Some days are better days.
Every day above ground or not in an urn is a good day.
The vast majority of us have a majority of good days just based upon breathing naturally.
Jay
@FastEdD:
I am so sorry, my heart breaks for you.
zhena gogolia
@FastEdD: I’m so sorry.
HeartlandLiberal
On Christmas day, we are having ten friends over. We will play three tables of bridge, rotating partners after each round, so that every one gets to play with every one else. This is duplicate style bridge, which I will score afterwards to see who won. This had become an annual event (before the panddemic) for those of us who don’t do Xmas for whatever reason before the pandemic, or who were just in town and had no other plans. It is nice to be able to resume the tradition. We all pitch in with food, so the afternoon is spent doing our two favorite things: playing bridge and eating.
In other news, the temperature got to -7 F below at our house, so naturally we closed the cat door. One of our cats, who is the most adventurous, and extremely smart, has been bugging us for 36 hours, following us around MEOWING accusatorially, and jumping in our laps, trying to persuade us to OPEN THE DAMNED DOOR. It finally got to 15 F above today, so I opened it, but now she has come back in, the cat door is closed again, and she is roaming, meowing mournfully again at us for mistreating her.
cain
I’m thankful for this new family I’m part of – that Christmas is a holiday I’m actually celebrating for the first time in over a decade instead of just another day. I’m thankful that I was able to be there my ex-wife’s dog who died in my arms on Wednesday and help her cross the rainbow bridge. Thankful for the online community and thankful to be still here and thriving. :)
Baud
@FastEdD:
My condolences.
opiejeanne
I’m thankful for all of you beautiful jackals, and I could name names, like Omnes, Baud, and Watergirl, but I won’t.
I’m also grateful to modern medicine for the vaccines and the Paxlovid when we needed it in May; I’m convinced that kept us out of the hospital.
I’m grateful for the family I have left, my kids, my sister and her girls, and my husband of 52 years, 53 on the 27th. We still haven’t really celebrated our 50th because TFG was in the WH in 2019. I may write to the Biden White House and explain this. I think we’d both treasure a card from the Bidens, and so would our kids when we’re gone. Still kicking myself that I didn’t get my parents one for their 50th, even though it was Clinton. They would have been thrilled; Dad really liked Bill after he left the White House and was delighted when we got him a signed copy of Jimmy Carter’s book because he adored Jimmy, again, after he left the WH.
Jay
@White & Gold Purgatorian:
Not even Chonk?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV8EscIh3Lhbf51g8MsF9mg
UncleEbeneezer
So thankful Biden is POTUS! I shudder to even contemplate the alternative. Also very thankful for Garland, Jack Smith and the fact that the GOP is powerless to stop them.
zeecube
ZCjr is in town so I’m thankful tomorrow we’ll be at full house celebrating the season, everyone is in good health and not a Maganut in the crowd. Oh, and I believe in miracles- the Saints managed to win a game with windchill minus 15. Whodat!
Right now assisting Ms. ZC making glögg using her Norwegian grandmother’s recipe.
zhena gogolia
I was playing Christmas carols today and got to what’s called in my book “Ukrainian Bell Carol.” I never particularly cared for it before (maybe because it was played too much), but today I played it with care and it destroyed me. I just do not see a good end in sight. (Sorry, I guess this belongs in Festivus.)
I’m part Slovak and have devoted my life to studying Russian literature (because they don’t teach Slovak anywhere, now do they?). Now I feel torn apart by what’s happening.
Grateful for Zelenskyy, though.
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
for you,
with dogs there is always hope,…..
LesGS
My mom is in the process of passing, probably within the next 48 hours. (Who can say? She’s always done her own thing.) She’s in her own home, in her own bed, being cared for by my sister and me, with the amazing sustaining support of hospice aides and nurses. I’m grateful to be here. All is calm. All is bright.
WaterGirl
@FastEdD: I’m very sorry.
During the month that my mom was dying, long ago, it was grey here for the whole 30 days. It was somehow a comfort that the world looked like I felt. I hope the rain gives you comfort.
Drunkenhausfrau
I remain grateful for this community which helps remind me everyday that life is meant to be shared, in all its blessings and tragedies, victories and disappointments.
opiejeanne
@WaterGirl: Thank you. I missed that earlier. I’m glad Cookie was found and is now safe and warm.
I’ve been baking cookies today, because Christmas is a movable feast this year, occurring on the 27th when everyone can be here. We’re celebrating at the local Chinese restaurant this evening, if we can get out of our driveway. It’s been raining all day and it’s 47F now, but the driveway is still coated with ice, and I suspect the road is even worse. Yesterday, mr opiejeanne decided he had to pick up a prescription and his top speed was 15 mph, and the tires on the Subaru still spun and made scary, crunchy noises. He said there were lots of cars in the ditches and stuck in various places, including the parking lot at Costco. I haven’t been able to get the mail today for fear of falling on the ice. It can wait.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I guess it is! Do you have a problem with that? :-)
opiejeanne
@Dan B: Thanks. That picture is great.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I’ll save it for the Non-Reverse Festivus thread.
Jay
@opiejeanne:
when I was a kid, and we were poor, we had to walk up hill both ways in the snow to school, barefoot. The rich kids wrapped barbed wire around their bare feet. : )
Ice is no joke. During Snowpocalypse II, a young woman slipped and fell at the Carnovan Transit Exchange on sheet ice, broke her humourous. I had to drag her across sheet ice to where there was traction, get her upright, splint her arm, arrange transport to hospital and talk her through shock.
I was the only one to help, as it was rush hour, but I still (barely) made it to work on time.
Other MJS
I am grateful for vaccines. All of them, Katie.
Jay
@LesGS:
love and comfort to you and yours in this time.
Redshift
@Baud:
Or double-reverse Festivus, maybe?
opiejeanne
@HeartlandLiberal: We have two cats, and only one is allowed outside and only with an escort. She gets out several times a day in the warm months. She has been annoyed with us for over a week, since it started snowing, so I finally opened the door and invited her out a couple of days ago. She stood there just long enough to get a feel for just how freaking cold it was (24), and then noped right back inside. She really hasn’t asked since.
It’s been raining since last night, the temp is now 47, but our driveway is still coated with ice. I suspect our road is icy too, and getting off of this hill will present a challenge in the areas where the tree canopy shades the road. The house across the street is set far back from the road and looks like it’s shrouded in fog, because of the moisture rising from the melting snow. It’s a pretty look, but odd.
Tehanu
Had the Christmas blues all week, and I’ve been having trouble feeling grateful, but I’m really trying to carry out acts of gratitude and kindness, which is more important than internal feelings anyway. And I am grateful to everyone here for reminding me, every day, that I’m not the only one who thinks the way I do. Happy holidays to you all, and let’s hope for more good in 2023.
MomSense
@FastEdD:
I’m so sorry.
cain
@FastEdD:
my heartfelt condolences. May the day that you’re ready to live again be soon.
Dan B
@FastEdD: I’m sorry for your loss. My partner and I have been together 29 years as have many of our friends. I can’t begin to imagine how it would feel to lose him. In this time of Covid many of us spend almost all day with our partners and more time with checkout clerks than with friends. I hope some friends will tuck you under their wings.
raven
@opiejeanne: Yea, a neighbor senior doggie that wandered off in freezing weather and was found!
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
lots of online Slovak lessons, don’t know how good they are, don’t know if they include literature and culture.
Might be part Czech, Bohemian or Slovak. Donno. Grampa Slopak was a Salvation Army Orphan Refugee from the Czechoslovakian regions of the former AustroHungarian Empire, who came to Canada at age 12, and immediately started working in the Coal Mines. That’s all we have got of his history prior to Canada.
He was a sweetheart though.
raven
@Dangerman: I saw Gibby catch an 80 yard pass against my Illini when he was a wideout at Michigan State! And my brother was there for his homer.
Dan B
@opiejeanne: Down here on Beacon Hill most of the snow melted but yesterday my partner tried to get the car from a couple blocks away. He’d parked it on the arterial that gets sanded and plowed. Our neighbor’s Ring camera caught him sitting down (rapidly) on the front steps and then dancing the Tarantell on the icy street. He finally got the car this morning
I hope you’ve got provisions
We had four cars drive on our street on yesterday. No accidents or in the ditch fortunately.
Viva BrisVegas
If we are being thankful, I’d like to express my thanks to the Southern Hemisphere. I’m thankful to live where Christmas comes in summer. Where there is no snow and Santa wears a swimsuit. Where the cicadas sing, the mornings are fresh and clear and beaches beckon.
Merry Christmas from Oz to all. Here one of my favourite Christmas songs.
opiejeanne
@Jay: I fell on December 10th, got a concussion and was convinced I’d cracked my skull because it felt like there was a huge dent in the side of my head where it hit the curb. I was at an indoor mini golf course, and got my toe hooked under a raised edge of the “green”.
CT scan showed nothing broken, and no brain bleeds, nor broken ribs. My head is still sore if I try to scratch an itch on that side, but my ribs are killing me. It’s only a bruise and some pulled muscles, because when you lose your balance and fall your body tends to gyrate to try to not fall, in a way that gets you a month’s worth of exercise in less than a second, so everything hurts.
If I sneeze I still end up whimpering a little.
EarthWindFire
@FastEdD: I’m so sorry. I’m grateful you’re here to be a bummer. We need to share our sorrow.
That’s why I’m grateful for Balloon Juice and all of you. My normie friends and family don’t relate to the joys and sorrows I have around our current political life. I like being with all of you who get it. That we personally support each other is icing on the cake.
Other MJS
@FastEdD: So very sorry for your loss.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
Don’t have time to read everyone’s posts, just a quick post of my own when I should be readying dinner. I’m thankful for a lot this year. In no particular order: That my younger son has ended a marriage that had become a drag on his soul, and is now in a relationship that feeds him. My older son continues to do well, both in his work life and with the love of his life. My husband continues to be in vigorous good health at 77, in spite of several instances of skin cancer (wear your sun screen!). One of my cats, who was diagnosed with lymphoma 2+ years ago and given 6-8 months to live even with chemo, now appears to be cancer-free, something his oncologist says ‘never’ happens. My other cat, who was found this month to have a tumor on his liver that fills almost his entire belly (and we just thought he was fat!) has the kind of cystadenoma that is benign, so we can just watch it. He should live fine with it, at least for awhile. He’s almost 12, so if it grows slowly, as it should, he should outlive it. All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Steeplejack
@Leslie:
Music! I was just thinking the other day that I had avoided most of the Christmas music—probably for the better—but there are a few songs that make the holiday special for me. I liked the different versions of “Carol of the Bells” that people have been posting. Some of my Christmas standards:
Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Here’s the whole album (I think). What more do you need?
Leroy Anderson, “Sleigh Ride.” I have a soft spot for this one because it’s Leroy Anderson, who wrote “Blue Tango.” But that’s another story.
The Trade Winds, “New York’s a Lonely Town.” LOL. I’ve always thought of this as a Christmas song, or at least a holiday song, because of the snow imagery and the sleigh bells.
BSR
One more thing I’m thankful for: I woke up to news that my daughter’s flight today had been cancelled. Didn’t bother her for a couple hours, as I figured she was on the phone trying to arrange a different flight (not that there were any). Nope! She wasn’t going to let United Airlines ruin her Christmas, so by the time I called her, she had been on the road 3 hours, and is less than an hour away now. She’s stubborn, like her old man, and that’s something to be thankful for.
If anyone is into cheesy holiday music, I made a Festivus 2022 playlist on Spotify.
WaterGirl
@Baud: That’s the day after Christmas. For real.
opiejeanne
@Dan B: Yeah, we both did that dance last night because our front porch and steps had some invisible ice on them. At midnight we both heard a terrible sound, almost like the sound of a hand-held saw ripping through really thin plywood, but LOUD and long. We stepped out to investigate.
Today we spotted a car parked across from our house that appeared to be stuck; we didn’t notice it last night. We think that may be the source of the noise, the anti-skid braking system some cars have. Dave said our Subaru made a strange/scary sound while the wheels were trying to organize themselves. It’s all-wheel drive, so if one wheel spins the other three usually won’t, and it can stabilize the car and stop any skidding
Our corner is really bad when it’s cold out. It ices up really badly when it snows.
Steeplejack
@ColoradoGuy:
George Winston—more fuel for YouTube diving.
Jay
I am also grateful for humour, it helped get me through the year, some of it dark, bitter humour. Kudo’s to YellowDog Granny and All Hat No Cattle,
eg.
SMALL CHILD AT MALL – Santa, how did your Reindeer get their names?
SANTA – Well, it’s the memories I have with them, Dancer for example, high steps and dances every time there is a fresh snowfall.
SMALL CHILD AT MALL – But what about Donner?
Santa get’s a dark look on his face and stares off into the distance, SANTA – well, it was 1875, and we got caught in the Sierra Madres in a brutal blizzard,………
kalakal
@FastEdD: So sorry for your loss.
BSR
@Jay: Dammit! Almost sprayed a mouthful of wine all over my screen!
opiejeanne
Slightly guilty confession: I bought Christmas presents for my JW step-grandkids, as well as my granddaughter who is 8 weeks old now, but they are wrapped in non-Christmas, non-holiday paper. And now I wonder if I should have gotten my DIL something. Maybe I’ll send her a box of See’s candy.
It’s a shame that they aren’t coming to the Christmas party on Tuesday, but my son is coming. I worry that being caught between the devil (me) and deep blue sea (his JW wife) is a terrible burden to him.
mayim
Thankful that I have the ability to foster kittens, even when too many of them don’t make it. Before this year, I’d only lost one out of 60+ orphans; this year, too many have been very fragile and already at a crisis point when I got them. At least they are warm and cozy and have visited the full belly deli when they die.
Thankful that my cats love me and tolerate the presence of the fosters.
Thankful that my fibromyalgia was diagnosed in months, not the years it takes for so many women who have it to be taken seriously. Also thankful that my ADHD has been diagnosed and is being treated ~ although being diagnosed earlier in life rather than in my 50s would’ve made so much of that earlier life much easier!
Thankful for a job I love (I get paid to do my hobby/passion/obsession), the existence of beautiful yarn and gorgeous fabrics to provide escape procraftination from the ‘real’ world and ~ most of all ~ for some of the most amazing friends a person could want in their life.
opiejeanne
@Jay: It’s the Sierra Nevadas, but that’s hilarious.
geg6
2022 has been a pretty sucky year for me, what with my baby sister being diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer, the sudden passing of my beloved BIL George and my boss being promoted to a regional director position where I will only see and collaborate with him once a week if I’m lucky. He has been a truly great boss. And to end the year, the great Franco Harris passed before we could celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and have his number retired, only the third Steeler to ever receive such an honor.
but I am still thankful for much. Baby sister got through some truly horrific chemo and is now having radiation and, according to her doctors, doing amazingly well. My widowed sister is slowly recovering. My other sister has had no big issues with her Crohn’s for the first time I can remember and her husband’s MS is responding well to treatment. My remaining brother had successful cataract surgery and has found a wonderful girlfriend. Young niece is having the college experience we all wish we’d had and the older one has baby #3 due in late January and her husband and two little ones are super proud that she has returned to nursing school after several years of hiatus. My John is in good health and our pups, Koda and Lovey, and kitteh, Cleo, are the best pets ever. I am forever grateful that Biden/Harris are in the White House, that I lived through the era of Nancy SMASH!, and the Red Wave turned out to be a trickle. I am truly grateful for Balloon Juice, John Cole and all the frontpagers and the Jackals for keeping me sane since 2005. Lastly, I am grateful to have lived through and celebrated the great 1970s Steeler team, of which Franco was such an essential part. That truly was a glorious time in this city and so much fun.
Wyatt Salamanca
I’m thankful for the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack. From start to finish, this committee conducted the most informative and illuminating set of public hearings I’ve ever seen. Their final report is a remarkable account of the outrageous actions taken by a lunatic President and his corrupt advisers.
geg6
@Wyatt Salamanca:
Oooo, thanks! I forgot to mention how thankful I am for the J6 Committee. They did amazing work and I can only hope that good comes from all of it.
zhena gogolia
@Jay: Probably Slovak. I think they were the ones working in the mines.
zhena gogolia
@Wyatt Salamanca: Yes, good one.
narya
I’m so grateful for this space; it feels safe (for lack of a better word), in a media environment that is toxic and profit-driven. I’m grateful for our blog father and for all of the front pagers who do things like set up zoom meetings with Adam Schiff. I’m grateful to be visiting my very old parents–my dad is very fragile, and, at 92, any day could be his last. I’m grateful that I was able to pay off my mortgage the day after I quit working last week. I’m grateful I could afford my various medical and dental interventions this year. I’m grateful for the good food and drink I had this year.
@FastEdD: I’m grateful you shared your pain with us (sorry if that sounds weird), and I will hold you in my thoughts.
Geminid
@the pollyanna from hell: Moving is never easy, and it sounds like yours has been tougher than most. But I hope your new home is a happy one, and that Spring finds you in good health and good spirits.
Spring is actually not that far off where you live now, even though right now it probably seems like a hopeful rumor.
Steeplejack
@FastEdD:
Deepest condolences. 🙏
Nukular Biskits
@watergirl:
OT, but is it too late to send favorite pet pics?
Tdjr
@WaterGirl: Thanks for posting that WaterGirl.
Jay
@Nukular Biskits:
it’s never too late to send pet pics,
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits: Not too late!
Just send the pics to me by email: my nym at balloon-juice.com
edit: Jay is right!
Barbara
@FastEdD: Please accept my condolences. I hope you have the comfort of friends and eventually, good memories of your partner to sustain you.
Shana
@FastEdD: I’m so sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you. Cry as much as you want.
leeleeFL
@BSR: In my case, decaf coffee! I should have seen that coming!
Jay
@zhena gogolia:
donno, all we know is at 9 years old, a Salvation Army Mission, in the Czech regions of the Former AustroHungarian Empire, “adopted him”, stuck him in a “Busker” band, because he had a good ear and talent, then shipped him off to Canada in 1921.
He worked in the coal mines at the time, because kids were the “right size” for Corporate profits, Irish, Welsh, Russians, Quebecqois, any kid small enough and hungry enough.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
@jay:
Thanks!
Barbara
I have so much to be grateful for, but this year I am most grateful that over the last month, day by day, my oldest daughter seems to be edging out of the shadows of her anxiety and depression. I’m grateful that my sister survived breast cancer this year, with the help of a truly gifted set of doctors.
I’m thinking of all of you who have shared the same — it’s so wonderful we can all live to fight another day.
Tinare
I’m grateful that I am fortunate to not have to go anywhere in this crazy cold and that my home is cozy and warm. I am grateful that I’m looking forward to a lovely dinner of red wine braised short ribs on Christmas Day. Happy Holidays to all! May 2023 be a better year.
Barbara
@LesGS: Sending warm thoughts to all of you.
Barbara
@zhena gogolia: My father’s mother was the child of Slovakian immigrants — from a small town near the Polish border.
Irishweaver
@zhena gogolia: Ditto plus Nancy Pelosi! And of course all the great people here at BJ.
Mel
@FastEdD: So many hearts here are with you tonight. You are among friends.
I am so very sorry for your loss.
MagdaInBlack
I am thankful I am home and warm and safe and well fed and, however grinch-like it may seem, that I do not have to go anywhere this weekend.
prostratedragon
Being: it beats the hell out of nothingness.
FastEdD
Thanks everyone.
Things will be better next time. I’ll see her in my dreams.
Group hugs.
BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️
I am grateful to be home with my mom. Hadn’t been able to make the drive since late summer. Talking daily is great, but being in the same room is better.
Also grateful for this place. The insights, the ability to learn something about EVERYTHING, the sharing. Thank you.
Narya
Here’s another thing: thanks to a thread here, I started using my fountain pens again, and I remember why I like them so much.
Geminid
I àm thankful for the two special masters the Virginia Supreme Court appointed to do the job after the new Redistricting Commission deadlocked. They moved Greene County from the 5th Congressional District to the 7th.
Now, instead of the odious Bob Good, my Representative will be the notorious Abigail Spanberger.
Steeplejack
@LesGS:
🙏
A song for your mother.
zhena gogolia
@Jay: Wow, would be interesting to know more.
Quiltingfool
I’m grateful for many things. I’m married to a very good man! I have a nice home, surrounded by woods and pastures. I have a kitty who is a very good companion. I get to spend my days doing what I love, designing and making quilts. I’m not money rich, not at all, but I have plenty.
All I need to do now is get my cartilage-free knee replaced. Bad knees suck.
Oh, and lest I forget, I’m very grateful for this community. So many kind, generous and intelligent folk!
Blessings be upon you all!
Steeplejack
@Viva BrisVegas:
Great song! Thanks.
Nukular Biskits
Sounds cliche’ but I’m thankful for family, reasonably good health, my grandkids.
Also, for a president who puts this country first, not his own selfish interests.
And, for those so inclined, I recommend some introspective music apropos to the holiday (H/T to Heart of Space … I’ve been a fan for over 35 years):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8M3FUMG6Zg
TKH
On this here board I am grateful for:
WaterGirl, who, if she were a dog, would be a border collie/pitbull mix. Who else could so capably herd the jackals?
Anne Laurie for her indefatigable efforts in her Covid threads. Really the first stop, the must-read stop, in the morning during the height of the crisis.
JC who makes me laugh with his way with words.
Denali
I am grateful for our new Sheltie, Daisy, who has brought much happiness into our lives, the Balloon Juice Community who is so caring, John Cole, my sweet grandchildren, music, of course, and good health after a stint with breast cancer, friends, nature, and all the goodness that life offers us.
dearmaizie
Sticking my head out of Lurk to say this thread was a wonderful gift I needed. Feeling down b/c I’m not with family, but so grateful for so much. @Raven, so glad Cookie was found. Thank you all for making this blog so much fun to visit. I have to ask a question, though, and I wish I didn’t. Does anyone know how Cole’s friend Tammy died? He never did say that I recall.
Merry Christmas All! Thanks for all the great conversation, insights, rants, jokes – everything. Special thanks to @WaterGirl for keeping this thing running so smoothly.
dearmaizie
@different-church-lady Well said. Thank you.
To all of those here hurting or healing, may peace come to you soon.
zhena gogolia
@dearmaizie: I don’t think he’s said. He tweeted something about tell your friends to see their doctors.
Jager
A totally unplanned history lesson happened this evening at our house. Our neighbor Marie. who was a child in Holland during the Nazi occupation, spent several hours this afternoon playing with dogs and talking with two 20-year-old college girls about growing up in Holland from 1940 until the victory in 1945. Most of the time the girls were bug-eyed at what 89-year-old Marie had gone through. losing her Jewish schoolmates, the lack of food, and the lice in her hair. Her mother trying to feed her with little or no food. Then the joy of the 5-year occupation ending, that Marie lived through from age 7 to 12. Not a normal Christmas Eve topic, but the girls couldn’t get enough of the “living history” of lovely old Marie.
lowtechcyclist
@Other MJS:
Me too! My wife’s been sick as a dog with Covid for the past week and a half. And we’re a fully vaxxed and boosted household, including the bivalent booster this fall. Without the vaccines, she’d likely have been in the hospital. Or worse. (Shudder.)
So I’m exceedingly thankful that my wife is still here, and should get better soon. I’m very thankful for my son, even as he goes through the PITA teenager phase. I’m ecstatic that my wife has informed her boss that she’s retiring at the end of April, and I’m looking forward to calling it quits at the end of 2023. I’m grateful for our two feline furballs, and all the others we’ve had over the years. I’m grateful that Mom finally passed away this fall at the age of 95 after being deep in dementia for years, and grateful for my two sisters and the fact that we get along well enough that it was easy for us to divide up Mom’s stuff, that none of us would have valued either money or some sentimental object over the closeness the three of us have.
Finally, I’m thankful for the joyous presence of the Lord in my life. There is nothing like it in this world.