This November, I find myself looking out at the world around me with even more gratitude than usual. As I stockpile the ingredients for our family's Thanksgiving dinner, including my signature yam-leek-chestnut casserole with hazelnut topping, I can't help but notice all of the things I have to be thankful for.
I'm thankful for the amazing fall colors this year, which I swear have never been more vibrant. My "October Glory" maple tree has lived up to its name, bringing its orange and scarlet seasonal splendor all the way into late November. I remember planting that tree when it was a sapling with a 2-inch trunk diameter and hoping for the best; now it's a mighty and mature maple that towers over my two-story home.
I'm thankful that my niece and her husband are expecting their first child. Little Logan James will be born in early March, and he is already eagerly anticipated by his second cousins, my son's daughters, ages 3.5 and 1, not to mention his great-aunt Sally, who is in love with him already. It's delightful to watch the nursery being painted and remodeled and adorned with baby dinosaurs.
I'm thankful that Hurricane Sandy is behind us and that those on the East Coast are rebuilding and getting on with their lives. I'm thankful that those of us on the West Coast were spared and indeed had one of the most glorious Indian Summers in memory -- warm and sunny until mid-November.
I'm thankful for the long walks this beautiful weather has afforded me this fall. For the mushroom hunting I have enjoyed with my husband, mostly fruitless in terms of edibles, but a mesmerizing outdoor hobby nonetheless. For the treks with my dogs, two stunning Irish Wolfhounds who are as hairy as they are tall, and who get me outside on days I would otherwise stay tethered to my computer.
I'm thankful for the holiday season ahead, looking forward to spending it with my family and friends, including the new family I married into just a year ago: my amazing stepdaughter, my beautiful mother-in-law, my kind father-in-law, and my new brothers and sister-in-law, who seem like they have always been part of my family. I look forward to caroling with my nieces, enjoying my granddaughters, and raising a glass with my sisters and my friends.
I'm thankful for my friends, some of whom have been there for decades, and others I've connected with more recently. For our adventures big and small, for the stories and encouragement and good-natured gossip that greases the wheels of our intertwined lives. For their experience and wisdom, for their foolishness and their foibles. For those I play music with, those I hike with, those I serve on the Library Board with, those I work with.
I'm thankful for my husband. After decades of kissing frogs, I found my prince and married him at the age of 50. My only regret is that it took us so long to find each other. He is my best friend and favorite travel companion. He loves my giant dogs and my crazy family, with all their quirks. He protects me from spiders. He occasionally beats me at Scrabble. He has proven, over the past few weeks in particular, that he loves me in sickness as well as in health.
I'm thankful we were vigilant when we discovered a small, hard lump in my right breast this past September and didn't accept the first "it's nothing" diagnosis. I am thankful we found a specialist who went the extra mile and determined that, while an unusual presentation, the lump was not only cancer but was the invasive kind that needs to be treated swiftly to reduce the chances of metastasis. Because we found my breast cancer early and because we persisted, by the time the turkey hits the table this Thanksgiving, my second and hopefully final surgery will be behind me and only a course of radiation ahead.
I am thankful that my prognosis is excellent.
I am looking forward to the walks, the feasts, the music, the gossip, and the glasses of wine ahead of me this holiday season and in the coming year.
Sally O'Neal has written weekly for Sportsmansguide.com since 2000. This is her 560th column. She lives, hikes, writes, and enjoys the outdoors from her home base in eastern Washington State.