I like Thanksgiving.  The food of course.  But also the whole concept of stepping back and recognizing that blessings abound and most of us can truthfully find something in our lives worthy of giving thanks.

My life has certainly not turned out the way I envisioned.  Last year I celebrated the holiday surrounded by my kids and grandchildren and with my wife comfortably by my side.  This year I face an uncertain future, but one that appears more and more likely to feature a solitary existence. And yes, that is my choice.  Oddly enough, I feel optimistic that I will discover a way to find happiness as I leave the past behind and explore new adventures and opportunities.  I’m thankful for that.

I shared this Thanksgiving with my nephew, a co-worker, and some of my “bar family” from Shenanigans.

We enjoyed turkey…

…and the traditional sides: corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green been casserole, candied yams, fruit salad, and dinner rolls…

Pecan pie and a pumpkin pie for dessert… Oh, and beer and wine of course.

Put it all together and it looked something like this…

Put us all together and we looked something like this. (excepting Choonae who took the photo).

Asia was well represented at our feast, left to right we have Sonya (Mongolia), Qian (China), and Choonae (Korea).

Speaking of Choonae, she was thankful for having published her travel guide to Cuba. I made sure each of my guests had a copy of their very own. Signed by the author of course!

It was a good day with good food and good friends.  I’m thankful for that!

One thing I am not thankful for is this damn cough which continues to bedevil me in the wee hours of the morning.  This afternoon I returned to Soonchunhwang hospital’s International Clinic to see if they could fix what’s broken.  I didn’t have an appointment. The hilarious Dr. Yoo was gone for the day, Dr. Joe was not working, but the lovely Dr. Kim, Sun Hee was available to feed my fantasies assist me.  Prettiest doctor I ever did see, and the first time I’ve been treated by a doc in a short skirt.  Yeah, I’m pathetic I know. Regardless, she agreed with me that three weeks was too long to be coughing.  She took my temperature (no fever) and listened to my lungs.  Then she said “let’s get a chest x-ray”.  I bit my tongue and as it turns out, I was the only one getting my chest examined. We reviewed the results together however.  She had pulled up an earlier x-ray and compared it with today’s.  She said the expanded areas of white on the screen were indicative of infection.  She told me she’d prescribe some medication and if I wasn’t better in a week, I should come see her again.  Talk about conflicting motivations!

I didn’t say no to these drugs. Hope they work this time!

I’m still in a low energy mode as well, which is reflected in my pathetic step counts.  My nephew beat me for the first time ever last week and I’m not happy about that.  I’m hoping to get back into the program soon.  Maybe even tomorrow.  We’ll see.