Great kick-off, Dee,
2 years ago, at Thanksgiving, I got to spend time with both of my parents (who are divorced) both of my sisters, both nephews, my 98-year old grandmother, and a cousin I don't see very often. I only vaguely remember any of it because I kept slipping out to my car to take hits off of a vodka bottle until I was completely blotto.
At Thanksgiving celebrations this year, with over 600 days sober, I will get to see all of those same people again, and the thought of trying to "escape" that by drinking feels so foreign and unnatural to me. Yet at the time, it was inconceivable that I *wouldn't* drink. So THAT is what I will be giving thanks for this year.