Thanksgiving

This month a lot of my friends have been posting things they are thankful for on facebook. One status a day reserved for giving thanks. Well today is Thanksgiving so I think I shall make up for not joining in on the thankful statements by making a thankful list. This is actually my first Thanksgiving in the USA that I am alone for - it just was not possible to go elsewhere this year and this is the part of the month John is away. I have been a little down in the lead up to today but yesterday I realised that I really just have so much to be thankful for that I really have no excuse to be glum.

1. It seems appropriate to start this list with something from my first thanksgiving. I am thankful for the family (not naming names) that were my 'host family' when I first moved to the USA and welcomed me into their family. I celebrated my first Thanksgiving with them and it was a wonderful way to start this tradition. They are still in my thoughts often and I miss them now I am not in Knoxville. I think the man upstairs really had a big hand in putting them in my life as they had a huge impact on many levels.
2. I am thankful for my wonderful relationship with John. He's really number one on my list. I know that I always have his support and while there are always going to be bumps in the road we are always able to talk to one another and sort things out together.
3. I am thankful for our new house. For years now I have wanted a place to call mine, that I can paint and decorate... and feel really at home in. I cannot wait for us to be settled there (not so keen on the moving though).
4. I am thankful for my parents. They are so supportive of me, of John and I as a couple, and of each other. They are having to handle most of our wedding planning themselves and they do it without complaining. They drive me nuts but they wouldn't be my parents if they didn't. I always know they are there for me, their love is a constant in my life (even when I am being a total PAIN to them).
5. I am thankful for my friends. They are what enrich my life, shape me into the person I am today and will be tomorrow, catch me when I fall, hold me accountable for my actions, and make me laugh till I cry. I am really looking forward to making new friends here in Fort Worth but I also acknowledge that I am already so very very blessed in the friend department.
6. I am thankful for my job. This is my dream job, what I have always wanted to do. I am so lucky. Every day I go to work I cannot help but wonder what I did to deserve the opportunity. I am amazed by it.
7. I am thankful that I have never been in a position where I did not know where I would sleep or how I would eat. As a student money may have been tight but never to the point where I went without - I was always able to give a little to others at the same time. I am always grateful for the opportunity to help others because my cup is overflowing.
8. I am thankful for my health. People often joke about my health and accident-prone nature but really I am very fortunate. I can get up every day and walk to work. I can lift the boxes I am packing for the move to my car (OK so they are not very heavy boxes).
9. I am thankful for the creative skills God blessed me with. I may not be able to paint or draw to save my own life but I love that I can sit and sew the flowers for my wedding, make origami, knit, and scrapbook. I find it relaxing.
10. I am thankful for snail mail. I LOVE snail mail. Not junk mail but a letter from a friend or relative - it gives me that lovely warm glowy feeling inside. Oooh I love letters.
11. I am thankful that I grew up and still live in a society where I was free to decide who to love, where to worship, what to learn, and who to talk to.
12. I am thankful for my Grandparents. I had a dream about both sets of Grandparents the other night and I am still a little emotional about it. They were all so very special and dear to me and I miss them terribly. It has been years since any of them have actively been in my life and yet I still find myself wanting to share with them what I am doing, what I have achieved, and where my life is going. I hope they knew how very very grateful I am that they were in my life. They are in my prayers all the time and I still feel their loss every day. I wish they could be at my wedding.
13. I am thankful that so many of my friends have found people that make them happy. I went to three weddings this Summer (and I am thankful that somehow I managed that despite just starting my new job) and it just warmed my heart to see my good friends so happy. I want the best for them.
14. I am thankful for indoor plumbing. I really enjoy camping but I life without indoor plumbing would just not be the same. Odd one for the list but a true one. It probably occurred to me because I need the bathroom (TMI?)
15. I am thankful that I am able to go home often and see my family and friends. Christmas will be so much fun.

Well this could go on for ever but I think I shall end it here - I need to make my dinner.