It’s that time of year… I have been thinking a lot lately about how grateful I am for my life and the way things are. I think about it a lot, not just in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, but I thought maybe I’d try to put my thoughts into words.

I am beyond thankful for my friends and family. My circle is definitely smaller and some of my friends are far-flung, but my people, the ones I know I can count on, are the best. The friends who know they can text me at six a.m. and get a response. The friends who I can talk to every single day about nothing at all. The friends I can vent to. The friends I can be real with. There’s definitely not as many as there used to be, but I’ve learned that I would much rather have a few good, close friends than a bunch of superficial, surface-only friendships. Some friends have fallen by the wayside. We’ve lost touch. Things aren’t the same, and that’s fine. People change and people grow apart. It happens. It’s funny who is left. Not who I would have thought. Some of the friends that I thought would always be there have faded into the past. But the friends who’ve stuck around? I don’t know what I’d do without them.

My little family is amazing. My two boys are everything. I am so lucky to have an amazing husband who supports me in everything I do. He lets me sleep in, he makes me coffee in the morning, he listens to me ramble and puts up with my snoring. He pushes me to be a better person and always has confidence in me, even when I don’t. Especially when I don’t. Our little guy is growing up to be kind, smart, funny, and independent. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that he’s on the right track. We must be doing something right.

I’m thankful for words, whether I’m reading them or writing them. The past few years have been so full of words. I have done so much reading and writing for school and feel like I have become a much better writer because of it. I’m thankful for the feedback people have given me. I’m thankful for the professors who have pushed me. I have always enjoyed writing but lately I feel like it’s all I have been doing, bouncing from one project to another and I absolutely love it. Three manuscripts, a serial novella, a TV pilot, a hundred or so articles or blog posts, a bunch of short stories. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but as long as I’m writing, I know I will be happy.

I’m thankful for my health. I know there are some things I can do to take better care of myself and I’m trying. I try to get my steps in every day. I’m trying to drink more water. I’m trying to work out, even if LEKFit kicks my ass. The doctor says I need to lose a little bit of weight (I mean, don’t they kind of always tell you that?) but other than that, I’m ok. Blood pressure is good, cholesterol is low, everything is normal, and for that I am so glad. Now I just need to make sure everything stays that way for as long as possible!

This one might sound crazy, but I’m thankful for being tired. When I first moved here seven years ago, we joked that every year, something big always happened, and that eventually, someday, things would calm down. I moved and got a new job in 2012. In 2013 we got engaged and got married. I got pregnant and we bought our house in 2014. In 2015, our son was born and I quit teaching. In 2016, we lost our house and everything we owned. In 2017, we both went back to school and returned to our house. In 2018, the kid started preschool. In 2019, I spent a week on campus and began work on my thesis. Things still haven’t calmed down yet, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy Thanksgiving!