Am I the only one whose whole being feels sore and tired from another election cycle?  I feel like I just competed in a triathlon.  The good news is this is just a warm up race for the 2024 election.

Let’s talk about something else for a while.  

Each year for the November column I make “The List” -  a number of things I am specifically thankful for in 2022.  It seems only appropriate in a season of Thanksgiving.

I like gratitude because it produces so much good in such little time.  It brings joy, offers hope, releases endorphins which make us feel good, and the things we are grateful for are things we can often unify on.  I also like it because once you start naming things you’re thankful for, it’s hard to stop.  It becomes a gratitude landslide.

So I’m going to give you four things I am specifically grateful for this year in no real order.  This is not a complete list. There are other things. These are just a few I feel like telling you about.(Also, each year I have to give this disclaimer when I release this list: Obviously at the top of my list are God, Family and ‘Merica, but for the purposes of this column let’s believe these truths to be self-evident and list a few of the other gratitudes.)

Everybody ready? Let’s get started.

ONE - UNITY SQUARE: I know Unity Square isn’t really a new thing anymore, but I still love being out there. I love the Main Stage and the city backdrop behind it.  I love that more times than not when I’m “attending” something at Unity Square kids take over the western grass circle (the Wilds) with impromptu games of tag and foot races and dancing and whatever else.

I love the way it connects the Price Tower and the Center.  It’s like an architectural bridge between the two.

I love the variety of experiences we have there.  I’ve enjoyed everything from concerts to funerals there.  It’s wonderful (to me) that many of my same friends that attend Gospel concerts there also go to Graduation Events and Pride Celebrations and CommunityFest and outdoor plays there. 

It really is a magical place that still has that new venue smell.  And yet even with all that it has to offer, it’s what it will be (new art installations, new performances, maturing trees and new memories) that I think makes it even more exciting.  To me it’s so appropriately named.

TWO - SEASONS: After a summer that was remarkable for so many reasons, I’m grateful that seasons do change.  I mean that physically, metaphorically, spiritually and every other kind of -ally.

It’s amazing that even without typical temperature changes, the trees and bushes know - it’s bedtime. This is when they rest, so like clock work they start shedding their leaves. They’re on a schedule (even if there are some deciduous night owls out there).

I keep hoping as a people group we’ll have a season change too, that as a culture we’ll turn some corner into a brighter time.  That maybe we’ll all wake up one day and just forget to be anxious or angry or hate our neighbors.  Wouldn’t that be a great change of seasons?

THREE - DREAMERS: A year ago my wife Ann-Janette and I followed up on an idea that had been haunting us for four or five years.  What if we found other people that wanted to human better, live more engaged and creative lives and sorta banded together in the process?  We call that group PioneerDreamers (or Dreamers).  What an amazing assortment of people.

About every four to six weeks we get together here or Tulsa (future possible plans for OKC and KC in the works) in a cocktail party event in which everyone is cool enough to attend.  We’ve had panel discussions, poets, storytelling nights, book clubs, interviews…. One night we passed out pre-stamped postcards we made that said, “What I Like About You.” We let everyone fill them out and we mailed them.  For some people in the crowd it was their opportunity to recognize the good in someone that needed to hear it (See it and Say it).  For others it was a wonderful way to acknowledge the good in someone they might feel competitive with.  This card was a way to de-escalate a competitive conflict with someone and also to say creativity and opportunity are not finite.  There’s plenty of good to go around.

I love it that when we get together, people from all parties and backgrounds are present and the crowd changes every time. Some of these wonderful people stay connected online (pioneerdreamers.com) or via our page on Facebook, but it’s these face to face gatherings that are by far the strongest experience.  We love these people. To us it just reinforces the value of community.

FOUR - MY WIFE: I know I said I would pick other things than God, family and country, but in this case I am thankful for my wife specifically this year…well, I mean every year…but specifically this year.

If you make enough trips around the sun you start to see that being human can be hard. Expectations don’t always flesh out, your body starts to revolt on you like a stubborn mule that just won’t go. You start to notice the mileage signs on the highway of life and you wonder what terrain is ahead of you.  That’s a lot for people who think of themselves as perpetually young.

This year, my wife has gone above and beyond in keeping our little family and all its ventures going.  She keeps our daughter alive, dressed and where she’s supposed to be 8 days a week.  She never seems to run out of encouragement or energy for my dumb ideas. She’s a fighter and a giver.  And though I mostly hate it…she’s extremely festive. She’s such an amazing trooper who endures so much.

Now, we’re not touchy-feely people, so she’ll probably be mad that I wrote these things about her, but it’s my list. She can do what she wants with hers.

I have so many other things about this great community that I’m grateful for: friends, community leaders, arts and entertainment, the ease of living here.  You probably have your own list.  What’s on it?  

This is a great “table topic” next time you go out to eat: Name one thing you’re especially grateful for this year. Chances are good you can’t limit yourself to just one.

And isn’t that a wonderful thing.