What are you thankful for?

The turkey should already be in the oven. Or maybe you're already falling into a feast-induced coma.

Wake up!

In the tradition of families who take a few minutes to start their Thanksgiving meal by holding hands and taking turns to tell others what they're thankful for this year, we asked you to send in your thankfulnesses. Think of Northwest North Carolina as one big holiday table, if you will, for just a moment….

Hey, stop staring at the green-bean casserole -- yeah, we know it's the one time of year that you get to eat those crunchy fried little onions.

Just wait. Be thankful!

Sue Conway of Lewisville is a romantic. She's thankful for roses, chocolate, seasons, "Carolina blue skies," smiles, belly laughs and her family's health.

Kristen Nardone of Winston-Salem wins the award for the Thanksgiving tear-jerker. "Last Thanksgiving my premature twins had just gotten out of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Forsyth Medical Center)," she wrote. "I'm thankful that this year they are healthy 1-year-olds who have blessed my life beyond measure."

Rebecca Tedder of Moravian Falls wrote quite a long list of things she's thankful for, among them fall leaves crunching under her feet, birthday and Thanksgiving cards from friends, the telephone, a trip to Wal-Mart during the holidays when shoppers are in a holiday bustle, the sound of her husband's truck coming up the driveway, a cup of coffee with a good book, little things such as "a hug, a handshake, a special look."

She's even thankful for the early darkness that comes with late fall "because I like to look at the stars."

On the lighter side, she's thankful for this fun fact: a turkey has a wattle (that wobbly, often scarlet-colored skin near the neck) and a beard (at least male ones do). She said that apparently some people already know that, so she's thankful to have them laughing at her, too. What a good sport. Hey, Rebecca, we didn't know either. Thanks for some turkey trivia. Now, pass over some of that dark meat.

Sure, Steve Motsinger of Winston-Salem is thankful for his family and his dog, Sadie. But he wanted to single out the little things that make his life good: hot showers, Advil, whitening toothpaste, paper towels, automatic coffee makers, newspapers delivered in plastic bags, comfortable shoes, relaxed-fit jeans and classic rock 'n' roll, and most of all, his beloved LazyBoy recliner.

"I admit that the springs are shot and the fabric worn and stained. I'll even concede that there might be a Frito or two from 1987 mellowing away in some dark interior nook. (I strongly suspect that there are also one or more pacifiers, which mysteriously disappeared when the kids were toddlers). But for all its faults, the chair fits me like a glove. The sounds of springs groaning and fabric straining whenever I sit down are, to me, the Sirens' call, luring me back onto the shore of the World of a Thousand Naps. This chair is my friend and I am thankful for it."

Sheryl Eldridge of King is thankful for a laundry list of family members. Remember that today when you're fighting with yours. Eldridge says thanks for her rowdy granddaughter, Lexi; for her daughter, Christina; for her husband, Red; her job at Aon Consulting; her brothers and sisters and their offspring and "my buddies, Mae and Bonnie, all in West Virginia."

Kay Butner of Winston-Salem is also grateful for her family, namely her daughter, granddaughter and two sisters. She also gave a shout out to her church, Calvary Baptist, and gives thanks for her health.

La'Kenya Burns of Winston-Salem is thankful for her 17-year-old son, David, and that her family reunited with her brother, Anthony, after 13 years apart.

Heather Miller of King is thankful for her kids, and that's despite one of them being a teenager. She says thanks for her 15-year-old daughter, Brittney, and her 6-year-old son, Corbin, her new home, her job and everyone's good health. "Last year was very tough for us because we lost my dad to cancer," Miller wrote. "But this year, the tables turned for us, and we have a lot more to be thankful for. As a single mother, the road has not always been easy to get where I am, but I have made it little steps at a time. So to all the single mothers out there, I would like to wish them all a very Happy Thanksgiving, and hope that they are as thankful as I am."

Pamela Brady (who didn't tell us where she lives) thought she had it good last Thanksgiving, when she got to go out to eat rather than make Thanksgiving dinner. But this year she is -- almost -- thankful to make it.

"This year my son has moved home after his stint in the Marine Corps, and my 12-year old grandson is now in our care. At first when my son started talking about ‘the meal' I thought about last year. And then I began to think about how important the people we love and know should be to us. He had survived two tours in Iraq and was home. In the last 12 years…my stepdaughter died in childbirth… followed by the death of my only niece, my in-laws, a special aunt and uncle for whom I was responsible, my dad, my other stepdaughter and her husband.

"My remaining family may be smaller and we may argue a little more. I may have less patience and stamina for preparing a meal, but what's the alternative? So, will I be inviting those left to share this Thanksgiving? Yes, indeed I will."

Cydney Conger of Winston-Salem wrote about her experience with breast cancer, which was diagnosed in February 2007. She went through chemotherapy, radiation, a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and she wants to thank her parents, Luther and Louise Conger, her husband, Ed Simpson, and her sister Debbie Sears. "I am so thankful for my friends, co-workers and doctors," Conger wrote. "I am most thankful for my wonderful family who was by my side through it all. I cannot thank them enough for everything they did for me during this time. They were with me every step of the way."

In a bit of meta-thankfulness, Grace Sexton of Sparta says thanks for Thanksgiving. "Thanksgiving Day is to give us time to stop our busy lives and to reflect on what we are thankful for," she wrote.

Bill and Dotty Hill of Winston-Salem are thankful for their 18-year-old granddaughter, Ashley Tierney.

Among many things, Cherryl Gillam of Winston-Salem is thankful "for a country where we are free to worship God, and not afraid to elect our first African-American President."

What are we thankful for?

The Winston-Salem Journal's features department would like to give thanks for serious and not-so-serious things, because it's important to be grateful for laughter, too. Even we grumpy reporters admit that.

Tim Clodfelter is thankful that diet versions of Cheerwine, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper taste almost as good as the real stuff.

He's also thankful that his family and friends can see past his curmudgeonly exterior.

I'm thankful for my patient and funny husband, my sisters, my mother, my dogs and that so many people voted in the election. I'm thankful for a group of friends to cook and eat with, for French press coffee, Spanish wine, old houses, lettuce from my fall garden and most of all, for prolific use of the word "pirate" in recent world news, thanks to those guys snagging ships off the coast of Somalia. There's nothing like hearing the word "pirate" over and over on NPR.

For Ed Bumgardner, 2008 has been a year of highs and lows. "First, I am thankful for defibrillators, the gym, stretch pants and advances in cardiology as we are entering a sanctioned time of stress and gluttony," he wrote. "I am thankful my neighbor has yet to cut back his pine trees, as my house needs a new roof, and he will be paying for it when his trees come crashing down on said roof at the first good icing.

"I am thankful to have kids who remind me of the magic of youth, the empathetic pain of young adulthood and the fearlessness and lack of judgment that comes with being a teenager, as all these things remind me that I was once, and am still capable of being, all those things. And I am truly thankful that I have a wife to nag me, to keep me in line, to flaunt her total superiority over me in every aspect, to never be wrong -- and who loves me so unconditionally that she rose above a major challenge with determination and without complaint, or just to prove a point."

Lynn Felder, the assistant features editor, is thankful that she's got a down comforter on her bed. "It's a good thing when the wind is coming up through the floorboards and rattling the windows. If the house fell down and I had to live in my car, the comforter would keep me warm. If I lost the car and had to sleep on the street, the comforter in combination with my husband, David, would probably still keep me warm."

"I'm also thankful for my sense of humor. It's selective but keen. A good sense of humor and a down comforter will get you through a lot."

Thanks to everyone who wrote in. And now, thanks for antacid.

Laura Giovanelli can be reached at 727-7302 or at lgiovanelli@wsjournal.com.