Ever since I moved to the States in 2003, I have had a love/hate relationship with the Thanksgiving Season.  I mean, I give thanks on a daily basis for even the smallest of blessings, so to have a day dedicated to giving thanks was a tad weird for me (the hate part).  Back home we never celebrated Thanksgiving, and with the exception of my son who just moved here two years ago, I have no family in this area, so the idea of folks getting together with family for a day of eating, sharing, etc. made me feel a little out of place (love/hate).  Just like how we inadvertently conform and speak in the common language when we live in a new place; we also conform and get in the habit of celebrating like the masses.  Needless to say, in recent years, I have come to appreciate this time of year -- matter of fact I absolutely LOVE it!  In recent years, I have always been fortunate enough to have good friends who made me feel like family when I did not run away to spend time with MY family during the season.  My favorite part of celebrating Thanksgiving is the part where we hold hands and openly say some of the things we are thankful for.  If that is not a part of your Thanksgiving ritual, I suggest you try it.  I do it unabashedly and it makes me feel soooooo good! 
I woke up on Monday feeling VERY nice and thankful for so many things.  I was in the best mood ever, and had started posting various "I am thankful for..." messages on my personal Facebook page.  Not long after, I got the most devastating news that they had shot and killed Mark McFarlane of Paradise Cove in Lanham, and I felt myself getting into a very depressing mood.  The audacity of someone who even thinks that they should even THINK about taking another person's life always befuddles me.  To learn that someone robbed the life of such a good human being who I have known personally for over six years, hit me HARD!  I am still trying to understand it and was about to go deeper into a bad mood, when I had to force myself to remember Mark when he was alive -- always smiling, and always full of joy to those he came into contact with.  I know that his family is now finding it hard to be thankful, considering the fact that they lost him at this time of the year -- Mark was days from celebrating his birthday and opening up his new restaurant in Jamaica.  Please keep Mark's family in your prayers (even if you did not know him personally) and be thankful that you were fortunate to have known him (if you did).