By Diane Peck, Columnist

Today, I’m going to be more thankful. I mean, just living in the land of the free and the home of the brave should make me one of the most thankful people on earth, right? Still, sometimes I’m guilty of taking the good life I have for granted. So, this Thanksgiving Day, while acknowledging some of the pesky little snags and hitches in my life, I’m going to try and balance them with an extra bit of thankfulness.

Let me begin with the joys of car ownership. Remember how I paid off my car a couple of columns back? Well, sure enough, the very next week the front end began emitting a periodic high-pitched scream that could in no way be a good thing. I crossed my fingers and toes and took it to the dealership where they fixed me right up. THANKFULLY, it was only the brakes.

Same day I took my car in, I borrowed my husband’s car for the day and guess what? I hadn’t gone a mile when some kind of low-pitched bellow told me something mid-engine wanted out, or had already left the premises. Five hundred dollars worth of work later, problem unsolved. It’ll take about $1,300 more, said the repairman, to get it really street ready. Decision time. You know – the usual dilemma of questioning the wisdom of continually throwing money at an almost 10-year-old car. THANKFULLY, we were able to get it home without the help of an expensive tow.

On a completely different note, my husband and I are dealing with the physical ramifications of Baby Boomerism. We each have one bad hip. The “numbers” of some of our inner workings are too high – cholesterol for him, blood pressure for me. In the last decade, our teeth have had about as much reconstruction work as the intersection of Garriott and Van Buren. We never leave home without our bifocals, but, THANKFULLY, we’re still walking upright, making it to work every morning and mostly continuing to have our wits about us.

And we could each stand to eat healthier and lose a few pounds. THANKFULLY, if we ever decide to actually exercise, there’s a stationary bike in the closet, three real bikes in the garage and a Wii Fit under the sofa. (Speaking of not eating right – apparently there is soon to be a shortage of Eggo waffles – my husband’s favorite breakfast food. I’m only about HALF THANKFUL I still remember how to make them myself!)

Then there’s this man who keeps sending us e-mails all full of gloomy warnings about impending global disasters, plagues, pandemics and calamities. These daily reports are upsetting to my sensitive nature. THANKFULLY, he’s the man in my mom’s life.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the lengths to which I feel I must go to bring happiness to a grandchild’s day. After a particularly exhausting day at work, my grandson asked me to lie down on the cold, hard, concrete driveway so he could draw my outline in sidewalk chalk. I tried to get out of it all kinds of ways. THANKFULLY, I was able to get back up without having to call 911.

And there are always economic issues cropping up. Steve and I aren’t getting much of a raise this year, him because he’s been teaching for 33 years – apparently too long to get a step raise, and me because, well, frankly, a raise for support personnel usually amounts to one extra trip to McDonald’s each month. But we’re doing OK. THANKFULLY, neither one of us knows Bernie Madoff.

Home ownership is always good for some bad luck. The roof leaks, but only in one spot. THANKFULLY, it’s in my husband’s closet.

And I keep forgetting I gave one of my sons my house key, and I’ve had to crawl through the doggie door twice in the last week. THANKFULLY, we don’t own a chihuahua.

OK, let’s see now. That’s nine and one half thankfulnesses for 10 of life’s snags and hitches. Wow, I never realized how thankful I actually am! Life is good. Let’s eat. THANKFULLY, dinner today will be most delicious.

Peck is a local mother and grandmother who works in Enid Public Schools. She can be reached at peckaroonie@yahoo.com.