I want to thank you falettinme be mice elf agin
Thank you falettinme be mice elf agin
–Sly and the Family Stone
It’s not the most creative thing to write about on Thanksgiving, but I’ve got an awful lot of things in this life that I am very thankful for. I must be in the 95 percentile for luckiness.
How am I lucky? Well. How am I not lucky might be a shorter list. No one would want to read it though. I’ll stick to the traditional thanks.
At the top of my list–
Family and friends of awesomeness..
This cannot be overstated.
They rock. They love me no matter what crazy ideas I come up with.
They encourage me to keep having more.
They are blessed with both physical and emotional beauty.
They are funny and smart, and they make me feel funny and smart.
A husband who puts up with me. Anyone who has lived with me knows what a daily challenge he faces.
Love.
I am also thankful for music, the people who make music, and the lyricists who write words for it. My life would be a darker, quieter place without music. There is not enough time for me to write a thanks for each musician, but there are a few who I love above all others. So, thanks to Elton and Bernie, Elvis the Nerd King, Freddie and his amazing voice, the Beatles, Colin Meloy for the Crane Wife songs, X, CSI, Talking Heads…and hundreds, maybe thousands of others…for being the soundtrack of my entire life.
Words both written and spoken.
Books. Is that more words?
It is.
I do not remember a time before I learned to read. One of my earliest memories is sitting on my mother’s lap while she read to me, and having her figure out that I could read the words in the book myself. For as long as I have been me, I have been the girl with the book. The girl who would not put her book down to set the table. The girl who would not put her book down to talk to company. For much of my life I preferred books to people. Books form a huge part of my identity. My intellect, my emotional life, everything about me has been and continues to be molded by the written word. I am both grateful to all of the people who wrote the words I love and envious of their skill and work in doing it.
I can’t even begin to imagine a life without music and words, and I am infinitely grateful both for their existence and for the people who have mastered the art of making them beautiful.
Forgiveness and the ability to forgive. Finally. This is a fairly recent acquisition for me. I’ve always been pretty unforgiving. It turns out that’s more hurtful to me than it is to the ones I was not forgiving. I’m happy to have learned the lesson while I’m still young enough to benefit from it.
Saturday football games, and a little brother who is a wonder of energy. He has not only allowed my insane friends to come to his tailgaters, but he has actually encouraged them. He is a fantastic host.
Indoor cooking appliances. I know you boys love to grill, and that’s great. But I am very grateful for appliances that allow me to do that inside where it’s climate controlled.
My mother’s homemade pie.
Everything about my mother, really.
I don’t know anyone who has ever met her who doesn’t love her.
A job which I mostly like, which pays well, and provides me with ample vacation time to enjoy life away from it.
The ability to tell up from down.
Ground under my feet and the sky over my head. Sunlight and shade.
The water. Trees.
Heat and refrigeration.
Boozes.
Mashed potatoes.
Popcorn.
Friends and family. I know I already said it. They’re important.
Huh. Maybe this is why I don’t make lists. It can really get out of hand!