tha_bouquet05-web.jpgI am thankful for so many things this year. I went back to last November’s blog and noticed that I did not even mention Thanksgiving, probably because I was cooking for 15 and running around like a headless chicken turkey.

But this year I have time, and I am thankful for that. Also for:

  • My family. I am thankful for my mother and that she is alive and well and that we all manage to live together and laugh pretty much every day. I am thankful for my wonderful, sweet and eternally supportive spouse. I am thankful for my amazing girls who awe me continuously with the people they are growing into, and thankful for our two dogs, the spunky little young one and the sweet old bumbly one.
  • My friends. They are way too numerous to name, which is a huge thing to be thankful for in itself. I am thankful for my everyday friends, my far away friends whom I miss terribly, my invisible friends (the blogging kind), my lifelong friends and newish friends. You all mean the world to me.
  • My job. Which has truly given new meaning to my life. I love my co-workers, and I love what I get to do.
  • I am thankful for my many teachers, but especially this year to Doug who has taught me that I am stronger than I know, and to Kamau who taught me that I am braver than I thought.
  • I am thankful for the view out the windows of my house which make me feel I am in a tree house, one of my lifelong dreams.
  • I am thankful for the amazing community of adult adoptees I have connected with and who keep me feeling less and less like a unicorn.
  • I am thankful for the many many communities of writers that sustain and support and inspire me. Thank you to my original MFA buddies, to Rice Papers, to my Freewriting group, to Literary Mama and WOM-BA and NaNoWriMo and Readerville and Zoetrope and TTNonfiction. Wow. That is a lot of writers. Thank you all.
  • I am thankful for the music of KFOG, which makes me happy when I am in the car, and introduces me to amazing musicians like Ray LaMontagne and KT Tunstall.
  • I am thankful that the Democrats were so victorious on Election Day, and I hope that they have the courage and will to do the things that need to be done.
  • I’m just thankful to be alive and to have the life that I do. I know I’m beyond lucky.

I’m especially thankful to the nice people who invited us to their house for Thanksgiving so I can spend the morning working on my novel. Thank you!