Well, Thanksgiving Day started out with the pitter patter of rain, and from the cozy confines of my bed, I silently cursed that sound.  I put on my radio headphones to hear WWJ reporters discussing the parade fans who were already lined up for “America’s Thanksgiving Parade” despite the incessant rain.  The runners who participated in the “Turkey Trot” 10K event were sporting rain gear as they queued up at 7:30 a.m. sharp, and, it was still raining when the participants in the “Stuffing Strut” 5K run began an hour later.  There were even worries for damage to the floats, as well as the rain’s effect on the “big heads” cast of characters who stroll along the parade route.

Hearing this dismal and dreary forecast, I quickly resigned myself there’d be no walk today and just left the headphones on and went out to the kitchen to make breakfast.  Even though the rain had not dampened the spirits of most paradegoers, the water spigot indeed turned off just before the 89^th annual event was about to start – nice work Mother Nature!

So … I was good to go as well.  I quickly drained that second cup of coffee and got dressed before the rain made an encore appearance.

The sky was still a little “iffy looking” like it might rain again but I took a chance and didn’t take an umbrella.

The first thing I noticed as I walked down my driveway was that I was the only homeowner on the street who still had snow on their lawn, albeit just patches here and there.  It is the shady side of the street (as opposed to being a shady neighborhood or a shady homeowner), and, by the time I returned from my walk the snow had completely vanished.

I decided to just head down to the train tracks and back instead of going to the River, lest I cross the tracks and a longish train and the rain came along – I’d be two miles away from home.  That mindset got me remembering another “momism”, when my mom admonished me when I complained about getting caught in the rain those many years that I took the bus.  I might have been prepared with a thin trench coat and golf umbrella that I kept in my schlepp bag, but, if the winds were gusting, neither of those items really kept me dry.  My mom’s retort to my complaining would be “last time I looked you were not made of sugar.”

While I walked along Emmons Boulevard, I saw a biker, a runner and a person mowing the lawn.   I heard the vroom of a motorcycle as it whizzed by me, its rider in shirtsleeves and no helmet – but, after all, the temperature was 53 degrees when I left – somewhat of an oddity for Thanksgiving Day in Southeast Michigan.

I reached the tracks and turned right back to head home, noting the absence of ducks in the water as I crossed the footbridge – perhaps they were scarce fearing some cook’s turkey was not yet defrosted and they’d go looking for a holiday bird for their dinner table

A few weeks ago I took this photo of  the pilgrim with his sidekick “Tom”; it was a picture-perfect day and I was struck by how the orange-colored leaves exactly matched the color of the pumpkin.  Today as I passed this cute inflatable decoration, the wind had the pair wobbling to and fro, and the tree, so resplendent in this photo, was now completely bare.

My own turkey trot today yielded another four miles to my total for 2015, and, as I rounded the bend to go up my street, it started to sprinkle just a bit.  So, I was feeling blessed that the weather cooperated for me to get in a walk, and that I have the good health to do so.  It also gave me license to gobble ’til I wobble and enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner without any guilt.

I leave you with this thought:  “no need to count calories today – just your blessings.”