The Following was in The News, the English-language paper in Mexico City today. http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnArticulo.asp?cve_cont=390335


My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving, we really love it. I think it's the greatest holiday, it can't get any easier than this. Family, good food and thank God... NO GIFTS!

But it's not always as easy as it sounds. As time passes by, life eventually catches up with us; times change, people change, grandparents get older, we get older, children become teenagers; divorce, sickness, quarrels, etc., take their toll

This past Thursday I couldn't be with my family, I missed them so much, but at the same time I felt grateful for all of them, for all the memories of past Thanksgivings; "the good old days" when everything was or seemed normal.

Are the normal days gone forever? By normal I mean "the good old days," the good times, the simpler times. Can we ever get them back? I guess we could if we didn't forget how incredibly peaceful and joyful a normal life can be.

I've always said "normal is the new perfect." Who wants perfection anyway? Its impossible to obtain and even hard- er to keep up. So this year I give thanks for my wonderful and happy and healthy, full of love, "normal" life.

And you?