I’m thankful for my amazing husband and our spectacular child. I’m thankful we have jobs, a roof over our head and food in our stomachs. I’m thankful for our health and happiness.

I’m also thankful that four years ago when I was husband-less and child-less, I still found things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. If you’re single this year, make sure to take some time for introspection and appreciate what you do have rather than harp on the things you don’t have (i.e. a spouse). It could be your job, great friends, a nice relationship with your parents and siblings, a new car, your health and well-being, whatever. Not only should you make a list of those things, but you should write it down and read it whenever you get too wrapped up in the dating game and forget about the things that are going great in your life. Finding your Beshert at this very moment is not the only thing that’s important. Remember that.

Last night I went out with a friend to catch up since I had been traveling with the team for most of the past three weeks. We usually see each other and talk frequently so we are always up to date on each other’s lives; however, with my hectic travel schedule, and the holidays, we had a lot to catch up on. We chatted about work, our families and how we spent Thanksgiving before he inevitably asked how JDate was going.

This subject is always a natural part of our conversations since he was the one who realized early on how much I could benefit from online dating and then convinced me to sign up. Even before I answered his question about how things were going I could tell he knew what I was going to say. I explained to him how I had kept talking with women during our trips, but that it was very difficult to make plans during the short windows that I was back in town and therefore most of those conversations had not led to any dates.

Fortunately, he wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easy and was prepared to offer an idea to help alleviate my dating problem. His suggestion was that I explain to the women what my current travel situation was but that I’d still like to have a face-to- face interaction via Skype™. After hearing this, I had to give it to him that it was a good idea even if I wasn’t sure how any women would react to it. Nonetheless, I’m going to give it a shot and will report back on the results soon.

While many singles take the major holidays as an opportunity to feel sorry for themselves, I take them as an opportunity to see my favorite people, and eat delicious food. Thanksgiving this year was a chance for my family, and my brother’s girlfriend’s family to spend some much needed quality time. The pair met in the traditional setting of higher education, far off from both homes, and after eight years of being together, many members of the two respective nuclear families had never met. I was thankful for the chance to get to know the people behind the love of my brother’s life. The good news is that everyone, excluding our dogs, got along without biting, and it was all smiles, all weekend long.

Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving?  What better time of the year than Thanksgiving to prove to the rest of the world why we are the most obese country in the nation!  Being Jewish isn’t the only part of our culture that you should be proud of.  Put on those extra baggy pants and be proud of your glutinous over-eating country!

While Thanksgiving is one of the greatest times of the year food wise, some of us may have a hard time surviving the day with our “well-intentioned”  but “I am going to make you wish you were in this turkey’s place” families.  And if we are going to the family of our significant others for the first time, who knows what we might be getting into!

I thought I’d give everyone a few quick pointers for surviving Thanksgiving with the family!

#1 – Stay by Grandpa’s side.  Grandpa is a Thanksgiving survivalist with decades of experience.  He will know all the tricks, secrets, and tools of surviving this day.  Stay close and do not wander far off.  You may even hear some great old-timer stories in the process.

#2 – If there is anything a Jewish woman loves to hear it’s that she is a good cook.  No matter what, even if you are about to gag, even if you feel slightly poisoned, even if you are wondering whether you’d rather listen to a Justin Beiber CD than swallow that bite, I’ve got two words for you – “It’s delicious!”  No matter what, you say those two words if you wish to survive the day.

#3 – Eat everything.  If there’s one thing I know from Thanksgiving with a Jewish family it’s that I will be asked an average of 343.8 times if I tried (insert food here).  Try everything; too bad if you’re full. You will not stop being badgered until you have sampled everything.

Finally – stay out of the kitchen.  There is no wrath like the wrath of a woman whose kitchen you have just made a mess.  Stay clear and be careful.

And ladies, please feel free to provide us guys with any additional pointers.  We only want to survive!

After a long three-day week, Thanksgiving was finally upon us. I was truly looking forward to good food, family and friends. I began Thanksgiving Day preparing the goodies I was bringing to my parents’ and catching up on emails. It wasn’t long after I arrived at my parents’ home that I was bombarded with the questions; “No date this year?  Are we ever going to have grandchildren by our first born? Do you enjoy being alone? You get my drift, right?”

After avoiding the questions and trying to quiet my irritation due to the typical line of questioning, it happened! My cousin who was supposed to bring a date to dinner showed up alone. Don’t get me wrong I felt bad for the guy.  His date stood him up and he really did look defeated. But, for the first time in a VERY long time the focus wasn’t on me. He was bombarded with the questions. I couldn’t help but grin to myself. I got to eat Thanksgiving dinner without having to defend my singleness. It was a nice change of pace. A bit evil of me, but such a relief!

Another year passes with the start of the holiday season.  Nothing is better than the holiday spirit in NYC! Sure, did I think I’d be celebrating with my apparently LOST spouse and kids, hell yeah, but such is life and fate with its mysterious twists and turns. Fortunately, I’ll be spending it with my wonderful family, which always involves much laughter, thankfully some catering, and a great celebration with friends and family. During what has been an extraordinarily difficult time for many people this year, I am grateful for all my blessings and hope much joy, peace and easier times ahead for those affected by 2009.

Happy Thanksgiving!