In many ways this year has sucked. The search for a house took too long, and we seem to have hired a shady realtor (now fired, thank G-d) which means we're keeping the house off the market for a couple of months, and putting it up again early spring-ish. As a good-bye he somehow got our email and phone numbers out there, so we have scammers and flippers bothering us (dealing with that.)

Because of trips back and forth, the new house remains in boxes, and it's hard to clean/organize. And I haven't written in months, just through lack of time.

Worse, I lost so many friends this year (only two to COVID) that I keep forgetting one, when I try to list them. Yes, it's my age too, okay? But it still hurts.

Seeing my country under occupation by enemies mostly internal (but controlled by eternal) has also not been a barrel of laughs.

Also Thanksgiving is now a complicated holiday. Thanksgiving is when we moved to Colorado. It was this family's personal Passover, because life in Colorado was much better than before, in every possible way. Now we had to move away, so it's a slightly sad Holiday.

HOWEVER to think of it this way would ignore the mountain of good things that happened.

First and foremost, when I hit the wall financially, I asked for help and was overwhelmed. You guys came through (which allows us to wait a couple of months, circumvent scuzzy realtor, and not sell the house at bargain basement prices, after all the work and money we put into it) and helped us financially. But more importantly you showed me far more people read me and give a hang about what I do and if I'm in trouble than I ever knew.

This is literally mind-changing and it's bearing fruit in how I structure my life and time in the future.

Other things? Sure. I have the best husband in the world, and we survived our time apart (but not happily)

The boys are both well and pursuing their lives, though yet at different levels.

We found a house we love. Needs some improvements, but what doesn't? And once the house in Colorado sells we should be able to do those fairly easily and make it even more optimal as a writer's home. And once we stop traveling back and forth to deal with other house, I will be productive.

The neighborhood is great, there is a wonderful park to walk in, and it's an easy drive from stuff I enjoy.

Best of all, the auto-immune is almost wholly gone: I actually don't have an eczema patch anywhere in my body for the first time in 28 years, at least.

And despite everything, and this long Valley Forge of ours, our flag is still there. People are starting to resist and fight back. And once Americans do that, nothing stops us. I am very thankful the lot of you mugs let me join the Freedom Gang, the most amazing nation the word has ever known.

Oh, and where we are allows us to range over most of the country on an at most 2 day drive, which means cons, and far-flung huns dinners have become possible. Also vacations where we "travel in elephants" (The Heinlein short story.) Why yes, I DO want to see the world's largest ball of twine. It's a very American thing. And fun.

Oh, yes, and I have ideas for books, and other things I have wanted to do forever.

For all this, but mostly for my family, my friends and this community, I am thankful.

I have been blessed beyond anything I deserve or could have imagined.

For that I thank the Author, and every one of you.