Reasons to be Thankful

We are fortunate.  Through careful planning and some dumb luck, we have a very nice lifestyle.  This is possible without extravagance, but it does also require some economic power.  What we have managed to do, is find quality in unusual but not inaccessible places, and figured out ways to have the good life without having to be wealthy.

This picture was taken at our camp.  This lone sailboat was out on Friday towards the end of the afternoon and was not only pretty enough to take a picture of, it was a great illustration of our experience.  While many people don't have a way to get out of the rigors and stress of every day life, this image and the feeling it evokes is a regular part of our life -- and we really appreciate it.

We have time to relax on the weekends and are fortunate to have our old RV trailer set on a space facing the water along Lake Ontario.  But even when we are at home, we have quality of life experiences that many people don't.  Western NY/Buffalo has a low cost of living.  We live on Lake Erie and the Niagara River.  We weekend on Lake Ontario.  When we are at home, we get in the car and drive to the river, then get in the water and swim with the dog.

The crux of being able to enjoy all of this, is that we can afford a car. It's great to be able to drive to the river every day and to the lake on the weekends.  It might not seem like a big deal for people in our society not to have access to their own transportation.  But the truth is, not having a car cuts many off from the type of relaxing and soul settling experiences that we are able to enjoy.  We have three old cars, but especially love bombing around in our 1984 Mercedes Benz station wagon.  It's an integral part of our summer experience.  Load up the back with supplies for the weekend, get the dog in, go on our way.  We drive around the back roads of Wayne County, picking up fresh produce, antiques and lots of sand.

Anytime we walk outside and look at the lake, we feel fortunate.  The Mercedes is a relic -- which we are happy to drive. When we get to see something as calm and pretty as this sailboat, we know how truly lucky we are.