It is the week of Thanksgiving. It is time to give thanks for all that we have. Actually we should give thanks everyday but Thanksgiving is a special time to take stock of all of our blessings. As I write this column I ponder the news of my week. A friend has to undergo chemotherapy again. Our family is waiting for results of tests for another family member. Everyday there tends to be news that rocks our world and it is hard to see the sun in the midst of all of the rain.

Yet my friend would tell me that she has much to be thankful for. My family member would tell me not to worry because she has much to be thankful for. I know their faith carries them through to see their blessings this Thanksgiving and throughout their lives.

If these people in the midst of turmoil in their lives can give thanks than I can too. I can see past the bad news and find the good news and be thankful. I am always thankful for my family, my friends, the fact I have a job and a car and a place to live and food on the table.

But there is so much more to be thankful for that I don’t think about normally. Of course I never think normally. I am thankful for my faithful dog Sambo. I am thankful Sambo quit burying birdbaths. I am thankful that I don’t have to eat liver and onions on Thanksgiving. I am thankful I am old so I can get a senior citizen discount. I am thankful that my hair is back to its normal color after spraying it purple on Halloween, although I must admit I looked great with purple hair. I am thankful I am blonde so I have an excuse when I do dumb things. I am thankful my husband puts up with me when I tell him I am wallpapering a wall with grandchildren’s pictures.

We can always find something to be thankful for if we look hard enough. This Thanksgiving I am also thankful for those who read this column. Thank you. The reason I started writing a column that basically talks about nothing is because I felt we needed something light hearted and frivolous in our world once in a while. I hope my column accomplishes that occasionally.

I love hearing from my readers. All of your emails uplift me. I am always amazed at how far this column travels. I heard from Joanna Penn who lives in Australia. She actually has authored a book titled, “How to Enjoy Your Job.” I was very excited to hear someone in Australia had read my column. She emailed me an adobe copy of her book and it is very good. Her book can be found at Barnes and Noble. I now know a published author. Actually I have heard from two. I also received an e-mail from a Brian Kurth.

He read my column from Seattle. He is the founder of Vocation Vacations. If you want to find out if your dream job is really what you want then vocation vacations will help you find out. I was excited because a couple of weeks before I heard from him I actually watched him on the Oprah show. Visit his Web site http://www.vocationvacations.com if you want to pursue your dream job.

Recently I heard from Joseph Webster of Colorado. He put my column on his blog. It is a techie blog but I was awed. If you want to learn more about computers visit his blog at http://secforall.info/2008/10/12/security-ideas-for-your-mom-revisited/. I am thankful for my brush with fame. Please someone send my column to Robert Redford!

This Thanksgiving I want to thank all of you that read my column week after week and put up with my drivel. It was fun hearing from those afar with a little fame but it is just as important hearing from people that live everyday lives. I appreciate getting e-mails like the e-mail I received recently from a reader stating that handicap accessibility has not changed in some communities since I wrote my column a year or two ago. Maybe we need to revisit that subject. It as an e-mail such as I received from another reader thanking me for recommending Annie Freeman’s Traveling Funeral. Your e-mails lift me up.

I like to write, that is my dream job. My cooking doesn’t help anyone. You must remember I burn vegetables. My talents are few but I want to use the ones I have to help someone and I hope that one small tiny idea in a column can make someone’s life better.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my family and friends and many other things but I wanted to take the time to thank you, my readers for reading this column. I wish you many blessings. I leave you with the words I received from one of my readers recently.

“Our neighborhoods and communities would be so much richer if people would take the time to be kind. My grandmother had a poem, “smile a smile, and while you smile, another smile. And soon there’ll be miles and miles and miles of smiles.” It really does make a difference.”

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net.