thanksgiving4: the South.

Driving down country roads, belting my heart out singing "She had a barbequue stain on her white t-shirt...", passing farms and trucks and people on their way to church, I knew exactly what I was thankful for today:

I'm thankful for the SOUTH.

Yes, I am thankful for the allure of the South.

For good homecookin.

For friendly people, who smile more than most.

For values and manners.

For small towns.

For trucks and how much cuter a guy is to me when he drives one.

For the power of football and how central it is to life.

For the general openness to the idea of God.

For sunshine.

For open fields that are beautiful even though they are flat.

For the fact that I have ridden a horse many times in my life.

For birthday parties at the farm.

For country music.

For the simplicity of it all.

For the joy that traveling to beautiful places brings because I know it will be so very different from where I'm from.

For all of the dead animals mounted on the walls throughout Texas that I secretly enjoy, strange as they are.

For the softness, the gentleness that is quite common.

For family dinners.

For the reality that this is HOME to me.