Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada—we celebrate a little earlier than our neighbours to the south, where it’s Columbus Day. It seems to me that Americans are very firm about which day they should celebrate Thanksgiving (i.e. on the Thursday that is Thanksgiving Day) while most Canadians I know are pretty flexible about the date. Usually, we do the turkey on the Saturday or the Sunday of this weekend, not the Monday. This year, because I’ve been at the Novelists’ Ink conference and got home late last night, we’re going to have our Thanksgiving dinner next weekend.

I am, however, feeling quite grateful today. At the conference, I saw a lot of friends, made some new ones, learned a great deal and had a wonderful time. I had lunch with some readers from the area, too, which was wonderful – and made me grateful for all of you who read my books. I stayed offline for the week that I was away, and that had exactly the result I’d hoped for—I have a lot of new ideas and stories to be told. I picked up a LOT of seashells and walked at least once a day on St. Pete’s beach (which is beautiful).

I understand a little bit better why those who live in hurricane areas are pretty relaxed about hurricanes—Nate sailed up the Gulf of Mexico, not all that far from us, and we had a little wind, some clouds, and the tide came in higher. I learned that it was called a “king tide”  because there was a full moon and a tropical storm within proximity, pushing more water into the shore. I thought there would be no shells on Sunday morning, because the surf had been crashing so hard, but I was very wrong. I had an awesome shelling morning and brought home far more than usual. (Mr. Math said “of course, you did.” :-)) I’ll sort them out and share a few pix later in the week.

And of course, coming home made me feel grateful, too. (There’s nothing like coming home, is there?) I have a big list of things to do, am both relaxed and inspired, and ready to dive in. If you’re expecting a reply from me on something (anything) I’ll be going through all my correspondence this week and will get to your message. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, do you do it on the actual date or are you (and your family) more flexible?

So, tell me today. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, do you do it on the actual date or are you (and your family) more flexible? What are you grateful for in your life?