We gathered at our daughter, Amanda’s, and her husband, Russell’s, for Thanksgiving at Rockwall (near Dallas). Our daughter, Jo Ellen, and her husband, Curt, came in from the Tampa area; and our son, Jon, and his wife, Priscilla, were there from the Oklahoma City area. Also, Mom rode up with us from San Antonio and Sherry’s mom came over from Ft. Worth. It was a wonderful family reunion!

We dined on an incredible meal that Amanda prepared, and then we retired to the living room to sing. Sherry bought me a karaoke machine as an early Christmas gift. So, we took it with us and had a blast.

As the night drew on, Amanda asked, “Ya’ll want a fire in the fireplace?” We thought that would be nice. She and her brother proceeded to light it. Jon held the lighter and she turned on the gas.

Suddenly, there was a flash and a WHOOSH !!! Jon hollered and jumped back, leaving the rest of us horrified! Amanda had accidentally turned the gas on too much, causing an explosion. Jon was unharmed, though shaken. His singed hair would grow back.

When I had time to ponder what had happened, I realized how close we came to disaster. The house could have caught on fire. Or even worse, Jon or Amanda could have been seriously injured. Thankfully, NOTHING came of it.

In this regard, I began to think of how much “nothing” I have for which to be thankful. The holiday season’s a good time for each of us to be reminded.

For instance, at a time when an incredible number of folks are traveling NOTHING happened to us. We weren’t involved in an accident, we didn’t get a traffic ticket and we didn’t have a breakdown. And, the rest of the family returned home safely by plane and auto.

Also, nothing having to do with poor health prevented any of us from being at the gathering. NOTHING that’s life-threatening is wrong with any of us. Much for which to be thankful.

J.B. was kind enough to fill in at the shop while the rest of us (barbers) were away. NOTHING out of the ordinary happened. There was no plumbing problem, no electrical problem and no customer problem. It went very smoothly, as expected.

At home, we found everything just as we left it. Our cat was fine and the house was comfortable and cozy. NOTHING had gone wrong there.

What is my point?

BARBER-OSOPHY: When we’re inclined to complain because of what we don’t have, maybe we should make a list of the many “nothings” for which we ought to be very thankful.

Copyright 2004, Sumerlin Enterprises.

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