Thankful Today

Black Friday is finding me at home just as it has for the past decade. No crowd fighting, traffic jams or parking lot cursing for me. This day is more restful for me than the actual day of Thanksgiving. With six children in our family, we have a good-sized gathering at our house. I make everything. I get help with cleanup  but mostly the day is massive work for me. But today, I'm not fixing any meals. Good turkey sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner while mom rests.

I'm sure I'll be working on some writing projects but I wanted to take a moment to share what I'm thankful beyond just my wonderful family and comfortable home.

*I'm part of wonderful writing groups both online and local. I can find the answer to almost any question I have about this business and I learn from them.

*Beyond questions, these groups offer endless moral support.

*With the world in shambles in many ways, I'm glad I can search out facts from a variety of sources online and form my won opinions. I always suspect bias when I read or watch traditional media like newspapers and TV.

*Along the same lines, I'm thankful that where I live the government never tries to shut down or block twitter or other social media expressions.

*And I'm thrilled with the invention of online shopping. I'll probably get more Christmas shopping down from my office than most of those people standing in long lines at stores. And now that my children are grown, I don't have to search out any 'toy of the season' like I did when my boys were into The Power Rangers all those years ago.

*I'm absurdly grateful when readers take the time to review my books.

Hopefully, you have today as a holiday after yesterday's indulgence. Or if you're not from the USA, I hope you know that we're thankful to have friends across the globe.

Anything besides family, home and hearth, you're thankful for today? Do any digital shopping today or did you venture out into the malls of bedlam? Any special online support you're grateful to have?

Susan Gourley writes epic fantasy and also romance as Susan Kelley. She's the author of the bestselling Recon Marines Series and The Warriors of Gaviron Series. Her blog is Susan Says.