Martin's Musings

Photo credit: Satya Murthy/Creative Commons

How often do you stop and say thank you to those people, places, and things that bring you joy?

If you’re anything like me, the answer is “not often enough.”

That’s just one reason why Thanksgiving is such an important holiday: It’s perhaps the one day all year when we shift our focus from work and other stresses, and focus instead on expressing gratitude. While we gobble down turkey and watch football games and get stressed out by our families, sure. But we can be thankful for all of that, too. To paraphrase the great poet Nicole Westbrook, this is a day not to be hateful, but to be grateful.

Actually, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s right up there with Fourth of July, Patriots’ Day, and yes, my birthday. I love most everything about it, from the parade to the pigskin to the pie. And I’m celebrating this year with a big smile on my face. That’s because I have a lot to be thankful for.

Here (listed in no particular order) is a public shout-out to all those people, places, and things that tomorrow, when I’m eating turkey, potatoes, bread and butter (#morebutter), etc., I’ll be saying thank you to with each and every bite.

Thank you, thank you, thank you — for all of this, and so much more.

Continue reading →

And so, my friends, here we are.

It’s Thanksgiving again. Time to take a break from life and give thanks for all those people who mean so much to us and the things that make us happy.

If you’re anything like me, then you have a lot to be thankful for this year. Actually, I feel like I have more on my list this year than in years past. Real things, not just foods, movies, TV shows, and the like. That’ll happen after a challenging year that saw its share of ups and downs.

As things have mostly righted themselves for me and appear to be on an upswing, I’m giving lots of thanks for normalcy, and its return to my life. Welcome back. Please stay forever.

What else am I thankful for this year? Read on for my list, which is presented in no particular order. Continue reading →

Nicole Westbrook isn’t the only one who’s excited that tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

I, too, am a big fan of the day.

I love the turkey and gravy, the good times with family and friends, the Macy’s parade, the big football games (go Patriots!), and the chance to pause and reflect on what I’m thankful for … before we all head out to the mall and/or our favorite small businesses to partake in holiday shopping.

It’s been an interesting year for me, but as Nicole herself says, “Can’t be hateful, gotta be grateful.” So in that spirit, here’s a list of some of the many people and things I’m thankful for this year: Continue reading →

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays.

Of course it is; what could be bad about a day off from work spent with family, watching football, and eating turkey covered in gravy?

But Thanksgiving is more than that.

As the name implies, it’s a day to reflect and give thanks for those things that make life special and/or worth living.

So with that in mind, here is my annual list (in no particular order) of some of the things I’m thankful for: Continue reading →

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, so I’m going to continue my annual tradition of giving thanks for some of my favorite things. Here’s a partial list, in no particular order: Continue reading →

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d continue my tradition of posting a list of some of the things I’m thankful for this year: Continue reading →

Since it’s the day before Thanksgiving, I thought I’d take a second to post a brief list (in no particular order) of the things I’m thankful for this year: Continue reading →

Nothing kills a nice, long, enjoyable holiday weekend like getting stuck in traffic on the way home.

So I’m happy to report that I made it back from White Plains, NY, to Boston in — get this — less than three hours. I left the diner at exactly 10:30 a.m., and when I looked at my cell phone when I reached the top of the escalator at Shaw’s, it was only 1:29. Amazing stuff. Continue reading →

Every year on Thanksgiving, I like to take a few minutes and post a list of some of the things I’m thankful for.

This year, that list includes, in no particular order, the Red Sox winning the World Series and re-signing Mike Lowell (and not signing A-Rod), Sam Lagrassa’s roast beef sandwiches, my future niece/nephew, a few days off from work, Boston Beanstock Coffee Company’s French vanilla muffin tops (same as Red Barn in Faneuil Hall!!), great movies like Once, good friends, Amy Winehouse’s album Back to Black, Trani, the TV show Brothers & Sisters, “you and yours,” Hype Machine, the entire Twin Peaks series on DVD, the Bean, and, of course, you. This blog would be nothing without my loyal readers — or, I mean, it’d still be here, but it wouldn’t be as much fun to write. Continue reading →

I have a lot to be thankful for this year — including Sam LaGrassa’s, my new brother-in-law, daily phone calls from L.A. at 4 p.m., movies like The Departed and Borat, a good job that I enjoy more now than I did a year ago, my Bubby, good friends, the blogger who posted MP3s from the upcoming movie Dreamgirls, weekly must-see TV in the form of Grey’s Anatomy and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the Oreo Surprise cookies from Paradise Bakery in the Pru, and so much more — but as it’s Thanksgiving, I just wanted to say thanks to all my readers, because while I’d keep writing this blog even if you weren’t reading, it’s more fun knowing you’re enjoying what I write. So, I hope you’ll keep coming back. Continue reading →