Giving Thanks in November - Colleen Angela Van Etten

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Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It’s origin dates back to 1621 when Pilgrims celebrated their first corn harvest in Plymouth, Massachusetts with Native Americans who taught them survival skills. Four hundred years later thanksgiving feasts continue to be shared among family and friends.

In 1981, I shared my first thanksgiving meal as a newly-wed with my husband Robert and his family. Today as I reflect back on 43 years of marriage, I reflect on a few wonderful things that have also happened in November:

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The Little People of America (LPA) battle against dwarf tossing had several notable actions worthy of thanks:
- In 1985, the Chicago Sun Times reported cancellation of the dwarf tossing event planned in Chicago.
- In 2001, “Dave the Dwarf” filed a lawsuit asking the court not to enforce the 1989 Florida law prohibiting dwarf tossing contests in licensed establishments. Thankfully LPA advocacy caused a State agency to pass a rule strengthening the law and another contest was cancelled.
- In 2011, 146 printed pages of a change.org petition with 4,834 signatures was delivered to Florida State Assembly Representative Workman after he filed a bill to repeal the 1989 law. Thankfully the bill died in Committee.

In 1990, I was grateful to receive news that I had passed the New York State bar ethics exams.

In 1991, Robert’s business moved out of the basement in our home into a commercial office building.

In 1997, Robert started work as a rehabilitation engineer at the Florida State Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

In 1999, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines. This was the precursor to the July 2004 publication of the final rule lowering the reach range from 54 to 48 inches.

Fast forward 25 years and we find ourselves in our seventies with our marriage vow to stand by each other no matter what happens is staring us in the face.

Robert’s health took a dive in March 2024 when he was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease and began kidney dialysis three times a week. Add to this issues with his cognition, respiration, mobility, and hearing. This year Robert has been a regular caller of 911, taken to the ER seven times and admitted to hospital five times. He has received physical, occupational and speech language therapy at home and in two different rehabilitation facilities. And now in November 2024 his level of care precludes his return home and requires admission into a skilled nursing facility.

So what do we have to be thankful for in these circumstances? Admittedly, it is a true test of our faith. But I have no doubt that just as God has taken care of us in the past, we can trust Him to do the same in the future. I am grateful that God knows what we need and has promised to provide for us better than sparrows and lilies. (Matthew 10:29-31.)

Image credit: Ralph from Pixabay

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