It’s now a week and a half with no heat in the house, and for the most part it’s been bearable with the two little space heaters, one in the bedroom where I keep the computer and one in the bath. Hopefully the furnace will come in tomorrow and be installed before the holiday begins, or I may have to wait until at least Monday for the next chance.

My daughter gave me her Christmas list, and as usual lots of things I cannot afford this year. She is 16 and has the usual teenage girl tastes in things, flashy expensive gadgets and nice clothes. At the moment I can barely afford to keep the bills paid, let alone afford any sort of presents close to that. One friend has helped make sure there will be at least a couple of things, but not nearly as grand as she has been used to in past years.

We don’t qualify for toys for tots or any of those things this year, as she only lives here part time, and is too old now anyway. I am sure there are lots of parents out there in this economy in my position, and I probably don’t have much of a right to complain about anything, but just one year I would like to have gifts that are nice for her under the tree that are actually from me, and not from a generous friend or donations.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, there is no meal planned, no one is coming to visit, and I am most likely not going anywhere. Those of you who are close to family, or have friends to celebrate, please be thankful and know how lucky you truly are. Some of us just sit and write stories about the holidays we wish we could have had, and maybe should have had.

Somewhere in some world in some dimension, there will be a Christmas tree put up tomorrow with so many colored lights that it shines like a lighthouse, people will sing…and at least in my mind, I won’t be alone.