Thankful. Just So Thankful.

There's a thread on Knitter's Review right now - in the off topic section - about answered prayers. I haven't posted anything there, because I honestly can't think of many times when I prayed FOR something - other than strength to cope with whatever comes along. I have said many prayers of gratitude, and I said more today.

My son was in a very serious car accident last night. He was driving down an off-ramp, hit a wet spot, a slick spot, who knows what - and rolled the car. The car is utterly trashed, bent frame, bent roof, broken windows, it's destined for a crusher, but my son and his friend climbed out with only scrapes and scratches, and I'm sure major bruises from their seatbelts will appear in a day or two. (They did get transported to the hospital to get checked out and bandaged - they're fine, just a bit battered.) They will be sore as hell and colorfully bruised, and my son is sporting a deep and painful road rash where his arm must have contacted the pavement at some point in the roll, but his arm isn't broken. His passenger - his roommate, a good-natured Clydesdale-sized guy - had nary a scratch on him. The car - an older model Prelude - was destroyed, but it kept them safe, and that's what cars should do. Go, Honda.

Wear your seatbelt. Even if it's only a five minute trip to the gas station, just put the damn thing on. My son and his buddy probably would be dead tonight, or at the very least lying in intensive care with who knows what sort of injuries, if they hadn't buckled up. Thank GOD they are both habitual seatbelt wearers and buckling it is a reflex. It was a beautiful warm night, the windows were open, the sunroof was open, what would have kept them inside the vehicle when it flipped over, if they hadn't had their seatbelts on? You just never know. Ever.

Just the thought that my precious and so wonderful son could be dead or seriously injured right now just makes me go all cold and still and sick inside. I am just so very, very grateful.

Pray FOR stuff? Not too often. Pray to thank God? All the time. I pray more when I'm glad than I do when I need something. It's just me.

I'm an eclectic Catholic -I'm a practicing Catholic, generally in line with the Church, if not necessarily with all the issues, and sure not with the many loud, very conservative and very political Catholic groups who get the press and create the impression of What Catholics Think. This Catholic thinks those assholes should focus on helping the poor, the sick and the disenfranchised, instead of putting up a bogus Supreme Court case (out of here in FL) to deal with the MA gay marriage law. Yep, that case, the one the Supremes chicken-heartedly declined to hear, was backed by some Conservative Catholic outfit right near me - though I've never heard of them. This stuff is not officially run through the Catholic Church, it's more like stuff ginned up in brunches at the country clubs, among those who only want to donate gifts at Christmas if they can have "a little girl who wants a baby doll." Yes, I heard that one a couple of weeks ago. Never mind that the gift requests were so basic, they broke your heart - kids asking for clothes, not toys. Diapers, baby needs, tools for a dad who needs to fix his house, stuff like that. Adults who need clothes because they have nothing to wear for job interviews.

Some people want to fulfill their own needs when they perform "charitable acts." I don't know, I can't say for sure, but I think the same attitude is behind cooking up a lawsuit to challenge a MA law from FL, but in a more openly mean-spirited, shitty way.

This is not what being a Catholic is about. It's so depressing that this shit is the public image, when it has nothing to do with why I returned to the Church after 20 years of happy Paganism, and it doesn't reflect in any way what I see and experience in my parish.

Sorry, I'm rambling, but one thing lead to another there, and that was my political rant du jour, so that's out of the way.

Things to be thankful for - Girlchild is moving home in two weeks! Now that the announcements have been made up in Tally, I can talk about it on my blog - I don't know who reads it and it wasn't "decided" until literally the night before Thanksgiving.

She's had it. She's burned out. Trying to soldier on through her dad's cancer and his death and not being able to find a decent job up there to pay even half the bills and all the rest, she just can't take it and it's just not worth it anymore. She's coming back to Orlando, she'll take a semester off, find a job, finish up her last few credits at Mom's school and/or via FSU distance learning, etc. I don't give a rat's ass if she finishes college in 4 years, I took, uh, 14.5. I don't think I'm the worse for it. If it takes her 7, so what?

So that's the rush for paint and carpet - I'm trying to get that end of the house done so we don't have to move a ton of furniture and stuff to do it later. Paint will be done for sure, carpet won't go down until after she's home, but Home Despot's people move furniture. We just have to move her computer and TV, they will do the rest. It's motivation to get that crap done.

I'm thankful that she's coming home. I've missed her SO much - it's not that we're joined at the hip, I'm not a Needy Mom, I have a brain-eating career and friends of my own, but damn, it will be so great to have her less than 5 hours away, able to meet for dinner once in a while, etc., like I do with Boy. I have no idea how long she will be in the nest again, I suspect not long, just until she can find a job and an apartment. But we have plans for some serious girl time in the meantime.

I'm Thankful. I'm just Thankful. I know it's a week late, but this is my Thanksgiving day.