I (Ginny) love patchwork quilts. They’re made up of “this ‘n’ that.” They ’re interesting and, in the traditional sense, they imply personal attention and effort by someone… a person, not a machine. When I recently hosted a small brunch for close friends in town for our 50^th class reunion, I chose to prepare the food myself even though Frank suggested I use a caterer. My time in the kitchen was well spent -- thinking fondly of my friends, anticipating their visit, looking forward to catching up on old times. It also let me be creative, which I believe is a part of life that is too nonchalantly abandoned in this day and age when we’re pressured to produce rather than to create. There is an important difference!

Our thoughts and feelings of the past are bits and pieces of our life that can also serve a purpose, especially when they present a pattern. This may explain why, generally speaking, women are more introspective than men. Traditionally, men are programmed to be “out there” hunting, tracking, trapping, and bringing home the necessities of life; whereas, traditionally, women have had more of an opportunity (while sweeping, nursing a baby, washing clothes by hand) to turn their attention inward. As genders, our paths cross, and life is best when we learn from one another and share attributes, traditional and otherwise.

An accurate look at history gives us an entirely different perspective of Thanksgiving than the one traditionally taught in the early grades. The meal was far from bountiful, and the relationship between pilgrims and natives was tenuous at best. Over the years, the holiday has evolved into something better than it was back then. It’s fun to glamorize “the good old days,” but would you really like to go backwards in time to live there? Infant mortality was high, and old age meant living into your forties -- and looking eighty! Movies that show women traipsing through an old western town rarely show the manure that has mixed with mud to stain the hems of their skirts. No camera can convey the smell of the men coming home from herding or driving cattle, with unbathed bodies and unbrushed teeth.

One thing (among many) to be thankful for on this traditional holiday is our ability to learn from the past. Think about parenting. Some raise their children the way they were raised, without even thinking about it. They use tools handed down from a previous generation -- tools that may be outdated and ineffective in a world that has changed since their own childhood. As a society we know more now than we did back then. We know better. So the idea is to take a look at what your parents did that was right and emulate that. Look at what they did wrong, and improve upon it. This process is how our species survives and evolves.

It’s also fun, as we age, to learn from youth. While I am traditionally working in my office at home, my adult daughter is “out there” more, exploring… the malls. She keeps me apprised of the new this ‘n’ that available to shoppers, whose lives can be made easier by modern inventions. At work, we’re fortunate to have on board a young affiliate (James Rightmire) who has opened his own Evergreen office in Modesto (1111 J St., Ste G101 - 209-622-3837). James is leading us by the hand into the present day, and together we’re creating and producing (1) IPOD Apps, (2) a state-of-the-art package for smokers outside our office venue, and (3) a parenting book titled Charming Children - How the Relaxation Game Helps Good Parents Raise Great Kids, which is soon going to be available on Amazon.com and through its own web site. (This is merely phase one of our distribution plan. In 2010 we will be on a nationwide promotional tour. Until then the book can be purchased by contacting us by phone or e-mail, and providing a credit card number or sending a check for $15. Mention this e-mail and we’ll pay shipping and handling.)

We’ve been (thankfully) blown away by the praise this book has received from educators, pediatricians, academics, and other therapists! Not to mention parents and grandparents who have put it to the test and graded it A+. They’ve proven to themselves how 10-15 minutes at bedtime provides an excellent opportunity to influence children in a fun, easy, meaningful and lasting way while deepening the traditional parent/child bonding experience. We’re selling to a niche market - only good parents need apply.

I hope you will (or did, depending on when you read this) enjoy your Thanksgiving, remembering to thank the turkey, pig, cow or sheep for its sacrificial contribution. As for me, I’m still trying to come to terms with the traditional food chain concept but, until I do, I go light on meat and fill up on the mashed potatoes and gravy. Damn the carbs… full tummy ahead!