There is a second hand store on Main Street in Cambridge, my town, it sells all kinds of stuff, furniture lamps, old clothes, It has become a focal point of the holidays for me, I love the stories these lights tell the care that went into their display, there are so many parts to them. In the outside world, Black Friday is upon us, the air is filled with sales, specials, great deals and other lures, I can’t really complain, I’m doing the same thing myself for “Second Chance Dog,” offering books, photos, dog food, everything going but dancing seals.

I have nothing bad to say about people who wish to spend Thanksgiving scoping out mall bargains, they have fun, get stuff they want, this is America, buying stuff is in the national character, buying it at discount is practically the national religion. It is not my way of spending Thanksgiving, this week for me is about gratitude. Maria is celebrating Plaid Friday – the small business answer to the theft of Thanksgiving – by selling a whole bunch of wonderful potholders on her blog. I am hoping more people will buy my new book “Second Chance Dog,” from Connie Brooks at Battenkill Books.

I have so much to be grateful for, I could not begin to even list all of it. Maria, my daughter Emma,  the farm, my work, my blog, my books, the photography, the dogs, donkeys, Flo and Minnie, our wonderful town, my friends – I made another friend today at lunch, I have more good friends than I have ever had, more riches than I have ever known, I will be giving thanks all week for my life, this is the only holiday that asks that of us, and I am pleased to honor it’s spirit. Thanksgiving is our simplest holiday, our most American.

Wednesday, Maria and I will go off for two days to a quiet place we love to be together, read, rest and eat a good Thanksgiving meal, we will return on Friday morning. I will meditate on gratitude, think of it when we walk, when I wake up in the night. Life is mysterious, life is precious, crisis and mystery are always just around the corner, life is fragile and quick, I appreciate the chance to live it, so far I have a full life marked by joy, love, pain, growth, loss and gain. Life itself.

I am tired in the soul, my friend Jesse’s troubles have touched a deep chord in me, it is his crisis, not my crisis, but still Maria and I work hard every day, as most of you do, and we know when we need to rest. Bringing my camera only, no e-mail, no Ipad, no technology. Images sooth me, they are never tiring.

I’ll be blogging Tuesday and Wednesday morning, then off on my mini-gratitude pilgrimage and I wish nothing but joy and meaning for you all.