So the day before Thanksgiving, Rebekah and I loaded up her little Rav-4 and headed down to Orlando to be with our daughter Naomi’s family. Because – of course – having enjoyed the drive up 95 all the way to Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago we thought, “What could be even more fun would be to drive the other way, down 95, with the 50-million other motorists heading into Florida.”

And to make it more interesting we had my 91-year-old mother and a 100-pound Golden Retriever share the back seat. Because, “Why not?”

We pulled out at 6:30 AM – no small feat. Then we arrived at Naomi and Craig’s house at exactly 6:30 in the evening. The traffic was, in a word, horrible.

My predominant sensation is exhaustion. Cumulative weariness, mostly stemming from the days following dad’s death early last week. But also – and this is a subject I may try to get deeper into in the not too distant future – from the past three years of care.

And here we are, in Orlando with the most marvelous grandchildren. Being thankful.

It’s what I love about this celebration, this holiday. The simple focus of gratitude.

• Grateful for Rebekah
• Blessed out of my socks with family
• Crazy-thankful for all of our grandchildren
• Deeply conscious of the great gift that is Andrew and Naomi and Alicia and Craig
• Very much aware of the immeasurable gift that was my father’s long life
• ThanksGratitude in so many ways for… freedom
• … the amazing bounty that is America
• … peace and security
• … my dog, Max
• … faith, and more specifically, Jesus
• … our church family
• … North Carolina
• … the community of Wake Forest

I could go on, but instead I will ask you to add your own thoughts and encourage all of us to pause to thank God for this Good Life. This ongoing Great Adventure.

In love, and because of love – DEREK