Thankful

At this point, I've asked about 450 kids what they're thankful for. I have a few things too, so I'll share. I will be just as in depth and silly as the kids. And, I thought I'd mention that my day yesterday was made brighter by the response from a kindergartner...what was she thankful for? Me! :)

1: My husband, Jon. Oh dear. I couldn't make it without him at this point. I won't go on and on, but I sure do love him, and I'm thankful every day.

2: My mom. She is awesome. I miss her if I go 2 days without talking to her. Fortunately, we get to talk a lot.

3: My dad. Because we went years with no relationship, and now we're close. It's very nice. It just took me growing up some, I think, and him growing up some. And then lots of effort on both our parts. And a wife that pushed for it and approved. I'm thankful for her too.

4: My family at large. I have a pretty swell large family, and I like them all. My sister, especially. Pictured is my mom's side of the family.

5: My In-Laws. This includes Evelyn, Don and Thad. I love love love them, and they absolutely treat me like their daughter. Actually, they treat me better, because we don't fight or anything.

6: Allison. BFF.

7: Matt. My other best friend. Matt and Allison are totally different, and both feel like permanent fixtures.

8: My small but great group of other friends. I don't like to have a lot of friends. Who has time for that? So, I end up being pretty selective. My friend circle is very different than last year this time. That is a good thing. My friend circle is MUCH BETTER than last year this time.

* I thought I should mention all people before things. So, now for other things. :)

9: Bertha. I mean, I know you guys know that. But I love that dog. I come home at the end of the day, and it is the best moment of her life every time. It makes me feel so special. Jon says that some days, she just sits in the chair by the window, staring and waiting for me ALL DAY.

10: My job situation. I don't know many 27 year-olds who are doing what they want, and making it. I love subbing. I love trivia. I really love working with Jon. I love directing plays (although honestly, not very much this week). It's all pretty sweet.

11: My condo. I always loved my condo, and Jon has really made lots of improvements. It makes me happy to know that it is mine. Well, ours. But, not someone else's...we're not throwing away money every month. And when we fix something up, it doesn't feel wasteful. It feels helpful and wise. (I'm not happy about the neighbors. On one hand, they bother Allison more, because she shares a wall with them, and must hear their horrible redneck fighting at all hours, sometimes like they were in her own room. On the other hand, the kids LOVE me and bother me all the time as a result. Perhaps one day Allison and I could tag team some blog entries about the adventures of living next door to these people.)

12: My place in the community. I know that sounds weird. But, I'm starting to know some good people, and people are starting to know me and that is all well and good.

13: My bathtub. It's a great old one and the back is just the right amount curved. I don't have a pic of the actual bathtub, but this is close.

14: My espresso maker. Because it makes espresso.

15: My car. It's cute.

16: The Internet, because what in the world did we do before it?

17: Food. Because we could all be starving. Instead, we have delicious food available at every turn.

18: My Wii.

19: Everything from this list.

20: Barack Obama. Well, kind of him, but more what he represents.

Photo by Breslow on Flickr.

21: All the kids at Catawba Elementary who actually love me.

22: My blog. And you folks who read it. I've said it before, but you save me thousands in therapy.

23: Luck. I have good luck, generally, and good karma too, I suppose.

24: The United States. I'm not particularly patriotic, and there are lots of things wrong with our country, but dude, we could be living in Africa.

Photo by Stevetookit on Flickr.

25: Love. I'm so lucky. I'm pretty consistently surround by love and good thoughts. That's why I'm such a happy little girl.