30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4

Today, I am thankful for my sister-in-law, Holly. Holly and I first met when Herb volunteered me to help out with her Halloween haunted house. Herb and I were performing as a demented knife-thrower and his assistant, and I think I gained her respect by “dying” on her brick porch several dozen times that night. I think she realized that anyone crazy and devoted enough to do that was just crazy and devoted enough to be her brother’s perfect match.

But beyond accepting (and celebrating) me as her brother’s wife, we’ve also become friends. She volunteers to babysit on a regular basis, invites me to join her for lunch or a show or a movie. She’s gotten me involved in helping out with her studio’s website, marketing, and public relations. She shares her family’s adventures with me, and I share mine with her.

Just like with my mother- and father-in-law, my sister-in-law is a wonderful fringe benefit of marrying Herb.


As I thought of the three things I would be thankful for today, the first thing I thought of was Miss Clairol. (I’m sure that some of you will be shocked to learn that I color my hair. I’ll wait while you regain consciousness.) And then I wondered, is it “okay” to be thankful for something like that? But then I figured that God made red hair, even though he didn’t make my hair red. And having red hair doesn’t hurt anyone, and it makes me happy. (It also makes my husband happy.) So I’ll go on being thankful for the little boost that being a redhead gives me. And I’ll be thankful for the bath salts and bubble bath that make me relaxed and happy. And lastly, I’ll be thankful for brownies, that also make me relaxed and happy. As much as the big things like food, clothes, and shelter are important to that, and as thankful as I am that God provides them for me, I am thankful that He also provides me with the small touches that make life not just bearable, but pleasant. And among those things are hair color, bubble bath, and brownies.