What I am most thankful for …

Sorry, no drawing this time.

This is the first Thanksgiving since our kids were born that we and they are apart. And not just a few miles, but a continent. Daughter Kel (24) is working in New York on a transfer from her LA office, and our son Mike (20) (the Daily Bruin photog) had the opportunity to go to the city to shoot a Bruin basketball tournament in Madison Square Garden. So the two of them are hanging out for the holiday, having gigabytes of photographic fun and cramming all the enjoyment they can into the short weekend. Parades, skating, subway riding, coffeehouse crawling, the whole schmear.

When your kids are young and tormenting each other, and their most common term of endearment is “butthead,” you keep wondering and worrying how it will all turn out. Will they grow up and go their separate ways, as happens in some families? Will there be awkward moments between “pass the stuffing” and “thanks for the pie” as everyone grits their teeth, trying to be civil? Will every family reunion turn into a snipefest? Or will they grow into caring adults who actually enjoy each other’s company? Ten years ago I wasn’t sure. But that’s in the past.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. And may you all be as blessed this holiday season as I feel tonight.