The people I am thankful for (and to)

Canadian Thanksgiving was last weekend, and being the good Canadian girl that I am I hosted a 15 person Thanksgiving feast at the beach. It was an amazing day full of homemade Canadian delicacies.

But that is not what this post is about. Thanksgiving is a time of giving thanks; of actively being appreciative of your blessings.  I have to be honest and admit, there have been times these past couple of months that have been difficult for me to be thankful for anything.  I blogged about losing my (step)father, but I didn't blog about also losing my beloved grandfather a week later. So this holiday I have made a conscious and concentrated effort, more than ever before, to be aware and mindful of all the good stuff. This post is about what I am thankful for. The people I am thankful for. 

Glen. Anja. Karlien. Dr Opalot. Sister Miriam. The entire staff at the Courtyard Hotel in Johannesburg. Yvette. Michelle. Michael. Emanuel. Ezra. Cheryl. Eric. Rose. Lana. Hailey. Noel. Andrew. Ian. Maureen. Neil. Eryne. Ourigan. Arthur. Kate. Mariko. Erin. Johanna. Jessica. John. Melanie. Kevin. Sean. Scott. Jeffry. Jenny. Thomas. Dimitria. Claire. Dana.

My mother.

These are the beautiful, compassionate, generous people who have kept me afloat and carried me through the shock.  The denial.  The anger.  The devastation.  The initial stages of my grief.

And, above all, I am thankful for my gentle, loving, funny, devoted (step)father, Jim.  As I stated at the start of my eulogy for him, lots of people have step-dads, but not many people's step-dads are their real dad.  Mine was.  For over 20 years.