Thanksgiving 2015: Mo Driving, Mo Family, Mo McD's

Once again, we have much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving.  This year, like last year, we get a chance to see our daughter for a few days as we are all jammed into one hotel room again like the days of yore.  Two of us are Canadians, so we could have done this last month, but nearly forty years of socialization will not be overcome by thirteen years of mapled socialization, a citizenship guide, a test and new passports.  Which reminds me:

• my first bullet of gratitude goes to Canada which made the citizenship process relatively quick, easy, and anxiety free.  Of course, much easier for us than for the refugees, but I am thankful that the new government is trying to expedite, rather than delay and cherrypick, the inflow of refugees.
• which leads to my second note of thanks: that the election produced a new government, which means that a friend of mine, and a very sharp person indeed, has the ear of the new Prime Minister.
• as always, we are most thankful to the Canadians who continue to welcome us and make us feel at home in Ottawa.  I am very thankful for the opportunities Canada has provided me and mine and for the move to Ottawa, which continues to provide dividends in both my professional and personal lives.  And, yes, I am used to the Canadians being mystified by how far we travel to eat some turkey and apple pie.
• I am grateful to those advisers/mentors that continue to support me, writing letters of recommendation, long after I have moved on from grad school.
• Which leads to thanks for the fellowship that will make next year's sabbatical more productive and less stressful.  
• I am thankful for the fellowship application processes, which caused me to reach out to Japan's embassy in Ottawa.  That one visit proved to be very fruitful: a great conversation, a trip in January to Tokyo, and an interesting conversation this week with three Japanese scholars who were in town for an event at the Dept of Foreign Affairs (or whatever they call it).
• I am grateful that the edited volume is done and launched and appreciate the hard work and patience of the contributors.  
• I am very thankful that my next book is now in the very last stages of production, and will be available shortly in the new year.  I will be thankful next year for the book tour that will take me to interesting places and good skiing (I hope).  
• As always, I deeply appreciate the friendships I have made via the course of my life and the magic of social media.  I am looking forward to meeting an Aussie friend in DC that I have only known via the internet until now, for instance.
• Speaking of the winterfest holidays, I will be thankful that my luddite mother-in-law has wifi!
• Ever since 2008, I have been thankful for Obama's win as it ended the yearly arguments about Gore v Bush (even though both my parents and my sister's in-laws are on the same side).  I hope we can avoid discussing Trump, Carson and the other cancers on the Republican Party tonight.

Anyhow, I hope you and yours have a great Thanksgiving.  I will try to keep my gluttony under control.

And clear skies and roads to those who are traveling over the weekend!