Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has never been a favorite holiday of mine.  It’s a lot of sitting around, cooking, eating, and then feeling stuffed.  As someone who has tried to focus on eating healthy and not overeating, this conflicts with what I feel like I should be doing!  However, over the years I’ve found myself appreciating this holiday more and more though.   I haven’t spent thanksgiving with my NE family since I moved to Arizona eight years ago.  I find myself missing them more around the holidays, but I also appreciate the wonderful family I now have here.  I really am grateful to have two wonderful families.

There’s a lot I don’t have and there are things I’d change in my life.  This is true of everyone.  But I do have a lot, and I have so many things to be thankful for.  This is true of everyone.   What we do have greatly outweighs what we don’t have.  Unfortunately, sometimes we get so wrapped up in thinking about what we don’t have that we fail to realize what we do have.

This thanksgiving I’m thankful for so many things.  I know I don’t always thank God enough for my blessings, but I really am so very blessed.

I’m thankful I have a home, a bed to keep me warm at night in the winter and cool in the summer, a kitchen where I can cook for my family, and a place to get away from the outside world.  There are many people who don’t have this.

I’m thankful that we can go out to eat sometimes and that there is food in my pantry and fridge.  Sometimes I say “there’s nothing to eat!” when nothing looks good, but I am thankful that there are options.  There are so many people in the world that don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

I’m thankful for my family.  They love me, support me, and I know they will always be there for me.  I’m thankful for my family miles away, and Mr. C’s family here who has also become my family.  It’s hard to imagine life without them. 

I’m thankful for my friends – they may be close or far, we may talk often or sporadically, but they are always there.   True friends are simply amazing and I’ve learned that they are very rare.

I’m thankful for my dog, Coconut.  She greets me every day with a wagging tail and a sloppy kiss.  She doesn’t judge me and understands when I just need some company.  I’m thankful for Oreo, my cat.  He also runs to the door (we think he doesn’t understand he’s a cat) to meet me.  He’s not as easygoing as Coconut, but he keeps us entertained and he’s completed our family for now.  They teach me about unconditional love and that’s a great thing.

I’m thankful for my husband.  I’m thankful that he’s a good man, someone I trust completely.  He listens to me ramble on.  He catches spiders for me because although I’m terrified I don’t want them to be killed.  He fills up my gas tank when I don’t want to go out at night.  He leaves me sweet reminders on my phone.  He drives me crazy at least once a day, but he’s worth it and I’m so thankful for him.

I’m thankful that I live in a country where I can blog about whatever I want without living in fear.  I can work outside the home or stay home if I choose.   I can publically attend any church of my choice.  I have so many rights I take for granted but people around the world, women around the world, don’t have these. 

This thanksgiving weekend I thought about my blessings, thanked God for all he has given me, and enjoyed some wonderful times with my family and friends.  I hope your thanksgiving was just as wonderful!