What are you thankful for?

Resslin' Around, by Casey Ressler

Around the Thanksgiving holiday, it's always nice to think back and remember exactly what you are thankful for. And sometimes, of course, there are things you aren't quite so thankful for.

I'm thankful I live in the greatest place in the world, where the beauty of the land offers opportunities that no other place can offer;

I'm not so thankful people are trying to destroy that beauty one McDonald's wrapper, thrown out of a car (with Alaska license plates usually) at a time;

I'm thankful I have a job that allows me to meet so many different and interesting people on a daily basis, and allows me to tell their stories to the community;

I'm not so thankful that job doesn't require hours spent fly fishing every single day, paid time and a half, of course;

I'm thankful for my family, and the precious time spent together;

I'm not quite so thankful, however, for the time spent from 3:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. last Wednesday morning chasing monsters from under my 3-year-old's bed, after which she fell blissfully asleep, even though her dad had consumed two pots of coffee and was shaking so hard he couldn't possibly go back to sleep;

I'm thankful for the work done by thousands of people like my cousin, who is stationed in Qatar with the U.S. Air Force and celebrated Thanksgiving in a tent in the middle of the desert, thousands of miles from home;

I'm not thankful that there doesn't seem to be a clear plan as to when those thousands of people like my cousin are coming home, or even what their ultimate job is to do over there;

I'm thankful the work she does -- and veterans have done in the past -- in the military allows me the freedom to binge on turkey on Thanksgiving and sit and watch football all day;

I'm not thankful, however, for the tryptofan and wine hangover that spans four days following turkey day and officially kicks off the Christmas season;

I'm thankful we are enjoying a real winter, with lots of snow and a real "Alaska" feel;

I'm not thankful, however, that a real winter with lots of snow and a real "Alaska" feel has forced me to snowblow my driveway four times in the last 188 hours, and it's snowing again as I type this;

I'm thankful for the meaning of Christmas, the gathering of friends around the holidays and the sharing of good times together;

I'm not so thankful that I may have to get in a full-blown streetfight with an 80-year-old woman at Wal-Mart for the last remaining Care Bear -- it's gotta be Love-a-Lot Bear, I'm told -- this holiday season, but I'll do it, forgetting the fact I'm thankful for the real meaning of Christmas in the process.

To summarize, I'm thankful for my family, my friends, happiness, the safety of our soldiers, the meaning of Christmas, the place we all call home and a little bit of snow.

You can keep the 4 a.m. monsters, any snow amount over one foot, people littering and long days spent at my computer.

The verdict on the Love-A-Lot Care Bear is still up in the air, though, depending on how tough that 80-year-old woman looks.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. He's also thankful for the moment first 5W30-weight cup of coffee touches his mouth each morning.