This is the first year in all my years that I will not be spending Thanksgiving with at least one member of my family. My kids are at least getting together in Seattle to give thanks together. There's a huge satisfaction in that for me because they're close and care for each other and I know that this family connection I worked so hard to create is solid. At the most important job I've ever had, being a mother, I've succeeded beyond my wildest dreams and nothing matters more to me.

I'm profoundly grateful to have dear friends who have helped me through this past year, which has been one of the most difficult of my life. I thought I would die of despair earlier this year and I not only didn't, I'm actually thriving. Hang tight, Jon, the wheel turns.

I'm filled with gratitude to have a profession that continuously calls me into being. It's hard, demanding, challenging and sometimes thankless, but it's who I am way down on a cellular level. I'm deeply aware that most people don't have the blessing of finding the career that's a perfect fit for them, so I humbly give thanks for that gift.

I'm grateful for a body that keeps on ticking and is remarkably healthy, despite the abuse I heaped on it some years back. I'm grateful for a spirit that keeps soliciting new challenges from the Universe. I'm grateful for the three animal friends who share their lives with me and keep me such good company.

I'm grateful for a day that reminds us to be grateful.

And in this forum, I'm especially grateful for music in all its many forms, and for my recent reconnection with music in my life. I give thanks for all the individuals who make up this community of music lovers and music makers, and for the worlds they've opened to me in the past few months since I discovered this amazing URL.

Blessed be,

WW