A thankful WebWordWarrior
This week’s word is THANKFUL
grateful for something; showing or feeling gratitude
This is the week that has traditionally kicked off the U.S. holiday season (until plastic Santas started showing up in stores mid-October). The Thanksgiving I remember from my childhood was one of joy and celebration, good feasting, family gathering, and none of the pressure that the gift-oriented holidays and occasions can bring. That sense of togetherness and a pause in the routine of the week made it easy to feel thankful.
It is a testament to both the OBSTINANCE
resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires
and the OPTIMISM
a general disposition to expect the best in all things
of the American people that we managed to take a mythical event that over-glamorizes the relationship between established indigenous peoples and genocidal religious fanatics and turn it into a celebration that has real meaning. Let us take this opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving as it ought to be celebrated, not as a gluttonous lead-in to crass consumerism, but as a real opportunity to pause, gather, and reflect.
Everyone has something in their life for which they should be grateful. Let us try, without cynicism (which is understandably easy today), to hold those things foremost in our minds. I suspect that for most of us, our thankful list includes people who give our lives meaning. Let us take the time to tell those people that we are thankful.
It is in that spirit that I want to offer my thanks to you, my loyal readers. This is a bittersweet Word of the Week for me, because complications in my crazy life will require me to discontinue this series, at least for now. I truly appreciate all the visitors to my weekly ponderings and the delightful comments that many of you have made.
More significantly, I am thankful for Michael Hulshof-Schmidt and The Solipsistic Me. My participation in this wonderful blog has been a delight and sometimes a salvation for me during a tumultuous 2011. Michael, his husband Robert, and I have all celebrated TSM on its anniversary, so I will not repeat those observations here. Suffice it to say that this is one of the brightest spots on the Internet; I have been privileged to participate in it. I hope that all of you are thankful for the time and effort Michael puts into helping us all work harder to make the world a better place. I shall visit regularly to read for inspiration, comment as I have insight to share, and post as my time permits.
In the meantime, let me close with a sincere paraphrase of Jack McFarland from Will and Grace, “All right. What am I thankful for? So many things, really. The smell of jasmine… A kitten’s purr… InStyle magazine… The Solipsistic Me…”
Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!
All definitions courtesy of Macmillan Dictionary Online, a source for which I am regularly thankful.
Social Justice For All 
On behalf of TSM, I am so very grateful to Lex for his long running WWW series. Lex brings an amazingly astute, witty, and enlightened perspective as he shares is Word each Wednesday. I, along with your readers on TSM, eagerly await your next incarnation here.
Another nice post, Lex! Thanks for your great participation on TSM and for regularly proving that a strong vocabulary can mean simply making the most of deceptively easy words. I look forward to your future contributions.