It’s Thanksgiving week, which means it’s time for the obligatory time out to give thanks.
I have so much to be thankful for … or, “for which to be thankful,” if we want to make sure my grammar is right on par. I’m a very blessed person, and all I have to do on a bad day is remind myself of that, and everything else just sort of falls into the appropriate perspective.
But enough of that … let’s get to the goods: Mandy’s 2008 Thanksgiving Thanks! I have way more that I’m thankful for than I could fit into a post, but I figured I’d provide a little cross-section of some of my gratitude.
- My amazing family. We’re not perfect – ridiculously far from it – but there’s enough love in our family to fill the Superdome. I’m so fortunate to have two parents and two brothers who really are four of my very best friends. I’m incredibly close to my family, and I love it that way.
- My “other family” – my incredible friends. I’m certainly not what you’d call a “social butterfly,” so I don’t have a mile-long list of friends. What I have instead is a handful of close friends that, even when time and space separates us for long periods of time, are always there in the background and always able to pick right up like we were never apart.
- Bootzilla. He’s fat, he’s evil, he loves to bite me, and, being a dog person to the core, we really don’t understand each other very well. But I begrudgingly love him, and I’m quite thankful for his 6 a.m. wake up calls, the occasional random ankle bite, and the joyous opportunity to clean his litter box. Thank you, Bootz.
- My job. In a time when so many people have lost their jobs or are working in positions & with companies that they aren’t happy, I’m so blessed to have a fun job, work with a great team, and get to enjoy myself at work each day. It’s good stuff.
- Coke Zero. Really, that stuff is amazing.
- Love. I’m so thankful for all of the love in my daily life, whether it’s love between family, friends, significant other, or witnessing it in complete strangers. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13
- Music. If you can’t tell, I love music. Some might argue that I have terrible musical taste, but nonetheless, I love what I love! Of all of the senses we have, I think losing my ability to hear music would be most devastating, so along with music, I’m quite thankful to have the means to experience it.
- Sunny mornings & sunny evenings. There’s nothing quite like stunning sunrise or a striking sunset. Although I miss most sunsets this time of year since it’s usually dark when I emerge from my basement office, I usually see the sun rise each morning. And it won’t be long until spring, when I’ll get to see my sunsets again.
- John Q. Hammons. Johnny Q. provided the $30 million gift that made the $67 million JQH Arena possible. Because of the construction of JQH Arena, I got to see my Eagles live. Yes, John Q. Hammons is very high on my list of people to thank this year.
- Banana pickers worldwide. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for picking the bananas and getting them to my local store.
- The Interwebz. I’m an addict.
- My family & friends. Yes, I know I already mentioned them. But it’s true. I’m so unbelievably blessed with a wonderful family and great friends, and my life would be largely empty without them.
