Happy Thanksgiving, Weather Or Not...

It's cold and wet outside.

Somehow, this seems to have become the norm here in Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm not sure how or why, I just know it seems normal and natural to walk around with a damp chill these days. It's like we went to a swap meet and traded climates with Philadelphia. (Which would be a lousy deal, unless we got them to throw something else in, like the cheese-steak sandwich.)

The thing is, I hear more and more people talking about what a "lousy day" it is, when all I see is a day that happens to be cold and wet and grey. No, I'm not a particularly huge fan of cold, wet, or grey, but I wonder whether--for some people--the weather literally defines what kind of day they can have. Of course, it's probably just a matter of semantics. These people probably don't mean to suggest that the day will be bad simply because the weather is not to their liking, but I'm inclined to think that the things we say matter. When we call it a "lousy day," don't we set our expectations for it to be one? Don't we put ourselves on the lousy path?

Am I overthinking this? Of course. That's what I do. I take the stuff that "normal" folks take in stride and I snatch those minutiae up in a net, pin their wings down on a suitably flat surface, haul out my rusty set of mental tools and set to work disecting them. There is nothing too mundane, too run-of-the-mill, too average or everyday to stop me from wondering "why do we do that," "what does that really mean," or "are those real?"

Okay, I may be exagerating a bit. (I don't really care whether they are real.) The point is that I over-think things. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so, though I really need to over-think it a bit more before I can be sure. And you can be sure I will. For me, over-thinking life is a certain and constant as the weather; which--as I mentioned--has been lousy of late, though my days have not. My days (and nights) have been good... I have a loving family and a home filled with laughter and hugs that steal my breath away. I have friends both old and new who tolerate my presence so well that I sometimes... almost... think they enjoy having me around. I have useful work to fill my days and creative pursuits to keep me challenged and I have wonderful people with whom to share it all. When the sun is shining we soak it up together, and when it's cold and grey none of us needs bear it alone.

So, as we enjoy our collective Thanksgiving's Day this year, I'll be wishing that each and every one of you, my friends and family, have the very best day possible, no matter what the weather may bring. I thank each one of you for being a blessing in my life, and hope that in some small way I may have been a blessing in yours.