The Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving I was driving to work with the look of an automaton droid, a look acquired by days, weeks, actually a few months of absolutely some of the most horrific sales figures in our history, I needed to find something in my professional life to be thankful for. I needed affirmation of my work being worthwhile. After all, the inventory of the store has never been at a higher level, my work has never been so technically precise, and the quality never so high, but I'm sometimes like someone with an eating disorder, I'm never happy with the amount of jewelry we have in the cases, and always affected more by the rare person who comes in to say "Is this all you have?", than by the 2300 people who say that there are too many choices.
Park the car, unlock the door, turn off the alarm, and look around, at the
picture of my shop... 
There are custom made granite table tops, from Hydrocut to match the table Mike gave me for making his wife's bodacious anniversary ring. Art on the walls, bugs on the walls, and fossils on the walls, a shop of live plants with orchids blooming most of the year, basically an American dream blossoming, and I'm the droid?
Suddenly, I realize that I made it through the hardest part of another year, with the support of my family and friends. My wife has given the store a pulse with her green thumb, masterful eye for display, and loving touch that calms the temperamental head jeweler. My son, has kept me young at heart by taking over where Porter left off, by making me leave the shop to go play in the park. My father-in-law has provided wind for the sails with his commando-drill-sergeant-kick-you-in-the-ass-Mr.Crabs style of rah rah phone calls and bookwork more times than I care to think, my web surfing proofreaders who also happen to be great customers and friends. Finally the people who help me in the store, Cate who usually lifts the mood of the shop just with her presence, and takes care of a copious amount of repairs, sells the jewelry, and sometimes decides what we should have for lunch. All of these people I'm thankful for. They are all beautiful in my eyes and I am really blessed to have them around. So the droid was busted up by the beauty of the people around me, and what they have given to make my dream work.
By Monday we had sold 10% of our store, I'm thankful for that too. Ho ho ho :)