Thankful

I hope this post finds all of you well!  It was supposed to post on Thanksgiving day but for whatever reason it didn't....I'm still figuring out the ins and outs of Blogger, I guess.  We had a busy holiday, hosting my parents from Wednesday-Saturday, and my sister and brother-in-law last night, so it's nice to have our house back!  I also cooked (from scratch, of course) an entire Thanksgiving dinner for 19 people and I must say that I did a pretty darn good job!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year.  I can't really describe why, but I've always loved it.  There's something about getting together with your whole family for the sole purpose of spending time together and eating good food that makes me really happy.  In addition, Thanksgiving gives me the opportunity to reflect on all that I am thankful for.

I'm thankful for my husband.  We have completely opposite personalities.  We love passionately and we fight passionately, but we compliment each other, we are strong where the other is weak, we embrace each other's differences, and we challenge each other intellectually.  While I can't say that I'm thankful for infertility, I'm incredibly thankful that he is the one I got to go through it with.  We are perfect for each other and I wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else by my side.

I am thankful for our health.  Allergies (me) and high blood pressure (hubs) aside, we are a relatively healthy couple.  Not everybody gets to be healthy, so we are very lucky.

I'm thankful for family.  I have three wonderful sisters who are all strong, independent women.  I'm thankful for my dad who showed me the value of hard work.  I'm thankful for my mom.  Things with her haven't always been awesome, but I've made peace with her and we have a decent relationship now.  For such a long time she had an uncanny knack for making me feel like I was the biggest failure on the face of he earth, and that hasn't changed too much, but now I recognize how she operates and I no longer react to her games.  I'm thankful that I finally figured it out.  I'm also thankful for my inlaws.  I really did luck out in this category.  I like them, they like me.  While I won't go as far as to say I want to be their neighbors or go on vacation with them, but we do have a good relationship.  Not everybody gets a good relationship with their family and I'm thankful for it.

I'm thankful for our financial situation.  We're not rich and we never will be, but we can afford to pay all of our bills, we live in a nice house, we drive safe cars, we have food in our pantry, we have excellent medical insurance, and we can afford a few extras.  We are a lot more fortunate than a lot of people, and for that I am thankful.

I'm thankful for my job.  I have a job that I love, essentially my dream job.  I worked really hard to get where I am today and it required a lot of sacrifices for both me and my husband, but I'm here and I love it.  I feel like I make a difference with my work and most of the time I can't believe that they pay me to do it!  I realize that not everybody gets to go to a job that they love (or even like) which makes me even more thankful.

I'm thankful for the little things in life.  I love to savor a leisurely cup (or four) of coffee in the morning, before hubs rolls out of bed, while I read the news, check blogs, etc. I'm incredibly thankful for that alone time.  I'm thankful for a glass or two of wine with dinner or to help me relax in the evening.  I'm thankful that I have the time to exercise regularly.  I'm thankful for friends who support me and make me think.  I wish I got to see them more often

I may not have kids, but I do have a great life.  I have so much to be thankful for!