Remembering to be thankful at Thanksgiving

"I sure am learning a lot," a dear friend told me when I opened her door to bring over dinner.

She was sitting in a narrow wheelchair, with her right leg elevated and some major pins and hardware sticking out of it. She had been through two surgeries in the last 10 days after a fluke fall that ended up shattering her leg below the knee.

She had on a blue bathrobe. She smiled when I bent over to hug her. She said, "I am so glad to see you. "

"I am so glad to see YOU," I said back.

I looked around. Two cousins had pulled up the carpeting in her living and dining rooms and pushed all the furniture to the sides and even arranged for the removal of some. Charlie, a neighbor, was up past midnight devising small ramps so she could get into her kitchen and bathroom.

"You just take things for granted," she said. "It can all change so fast."

"I'm so sorry," I said. "Where are your plates?"

She pointed to a stack of paper plates. She could no longer wash plates in the sink. She was using plastic utensils.

"Do you need me to cut up your meat?" I asked.

"Please," she said. "Did you see the temporary outdoor ramp Chris put up? Rehab wasn't going to discharge me without a ramp."

Her daughter had come down from D.C. when she was first hospitalized, but then had to return to work. Her cousin Pearl visited her daily at the hospital and also the rehab. Her neighbor Adrien took care of Dexter, the dog, and then drove him 100 miles to his former owner keep until she recovered. Mary helped set up a food calendar to coordinate nightly meals. Other neighbors checked in to offer errands, transportation to appointments, yard work and simple visits.

"Dewey came by rehab," she said, adding, "He just lost his wife two weeks ago and brought me her walker. My neighbor Milton, who just lost his mother, brought me the most beautiful bouquet from the service."

With each person my dear friend named, I knew she was not just lucky. In spite of being a single mother who worked fulltime, she had always prioritized relationships -- in her neighborhood, at her job and in her church. She had always been there for others, and now people were flooding in to be there for her.

"I am so thankful," she said.

It continued, "Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. And, although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice."

I looked over at my neighbor. It would be a long recovery.

"I am so lucky," she repeated.

Hers is a story we could all use on this Thanksgiving Day.