30 Thankful Thoughts

Over the past month I have seen people posting on Facebook their month of thanks, stating something they are thankful for each and every day.

 

I tried this once.  I think I stopped after day 5.  There are few things I am so committed to that I can remember to do them each and every day.  Brushing my teeth.  Having a cup of coffee.

 

Yep.  That’s about it.

 

Plus there are days when you’re aggravated and people are annoying you and the frustration prevents you from being Suzy Sunshine.

 

And then of course, there are the days when things really are rough.  When it’s hard to be grateful, for anything. 

 

And you know what?  That’s ok.

 

Maybe I can’t remember to post why I am grateful everyday.  But I do think it.  All the time.

 

So on this Thanksgiving I will do what I do best…  Shove all the work I have procrastinated for the past month into a few minutes.

 

My 30 Thankful Thoughts (In No Particular Order)

 

1)

I am thankful for my heart.  This, mind you, is not some reference to my love or generosity or kindness.  I’m talking about the actual muscle that is my heart.  It’s over now so I feel comfortable talking about it, but a few months ago I had a bit of a scare.  While sitting at my desk one day my heart began to pound.  Out of the blue.  And I felt like someone was pushing on my back.  Scared. The. Shit. Out. Of. Me.  My father was 38 when he died from heart issues.  I am 32.  The math is not good.  It frightened me right into a cardiologist’s office.  I did tests, wore a heart monitor, and generally freaked out for about 4 weeks.  All while telling 2 maybe 3 people because I didn’t want anyone else to freak out with me.  Not until there was something to freak out about.

 

Turns out there was nothing to freak out about.  I’m fine.  My heart is fine. It’s better than fine.  It is surprisingly healthy and strong and in very good shape according to the Doc.  Whatever that heart pounding moment was, it was a fluke.  And I am very very grateful.

 

2)

I am thankful for my job.  Anyone who knows me knows this is true.  I am one of the lucky ones, working doing exactly what I love. 

 

3)

I am thankful for my friends.  I am so so fortunate to have the people in my life that I do.  I have high standards for the people I let, intentionally, into my life.  I am lucky to be surrounded by people who not only meet those standards but exceed them on a daily basis. 

 

4)

I am thankful for my family.  Usually when people say this they have very close, usually large extended families.  This is not my life.  So I am thankful in a different way.  Because I know what it means to not have family in your life.  So those who remain are precious to me.

 

5)

I am thankful for the fact that I suffer from the problem of clutter.  It means I have abundance, more than I need.  As difficult as things may be sometimes, I know that relatively speaking my problems are small.

 

6)

I am thankful for Facebook.  I know this will sound trite to some, but I mean this as sincerely as I mean anything else.  I am terrible about keeping in touch with people.  Facebook keeps me connected.  It keeps me informed about their lives and makes me feel like they are a part of mine. 

 

7)

I am thankful for my roommates.  I tell people all the time I have the best husband and wife in the world.  They’re kind of awesome.  And I have lived in some not awesome situations.  I am lucky.

 

8)

I am thankful for my ability to know when I have reached my limits.  And know when to reach out for help.

 

9)

I am thankful for my education.  Even if it is something I will be paying for for a long long time.

 

10)

I am thankful for technology like my cell phone, my blackberry, my IPod, when I get the privilege of using one, Ipads.  Without these things I would feel so disconnected and for someone like me who is, surprisingly, in many ways an introvert, these things force me to stay connected when it would be easier to retreat.

 

11)

I am thankful for books, the fact that I was encouraged all my life to read them, and that I love them still.

 

12)

I am thankful that I have food on my table (usually cooked by one of my awesome roommates) and clothes on my back.

 

13)

I am thankful that I have not had it easy.  Ask me another day and I may change my tune.  But for the most part I know that the things I have experienced have made me into the person I am, strong and capable and self aware.  If life had been smooth I would have had no reason to fight.  And fighting made me resilient.

 

14)

I am thankful for the really pretty amazing year I have had.  This alone is worthy of its own blog post, there have been too many amazing things to list.  Things like meeting the First Lady.  Things like seeing my favorite band 3 times, and being backstage at one of those concerts.  Things like a surprise trip to Boston for my birthday.  I am so very very lucky.

 

15)

I am thankful that President Obama was reelected.

 

16)

I am thankful that I still believe that people are mostly good at heart.

 

17) 

I am thankful for living in a beautiful place, minutes from destinations that some people save their whole lives to get to.

 

18)

I am thankful for music and art and literature and film.

 

19)

I am thankful for my ability to write.  Without it I’m pretty sure I would lose my mind.

 

20)

I am thankful for better living through chemistry.

 

21)

I am thankful for Tavern nights.

 

22)

I am thankful to have the kind of friends who want to come over on a Saturday night, hang out in their pajamas, watch SNL, and eat pizza.

 

23)

I am thankful that although she is not yet home, Nishi is alive and awake and aware and getting better and stronger everyday.  And I am thankful that I have become ever closer to her wonderful family.

 

24)

I am thankful to live in a country where I am free.  Free to live as I wish and free to disagree, openly, with anyone I please.  Sometimes including my government.

 

25)

I am thankful for Starbucks.  Really just caffeine in general.

 

26)

I am thankful to finally have the courage to say that there are things I am good at.

 

27)

I am thankful for my ability to find humor in the most unlikely places.

 

28)

I am thankful that I know this is not how the story has to end.

 

29)

I am thankful for hope.

 

30)

Above all, I am thankful that I love too fiercely, work too hard, laugh too loud, cry too easily,  expect too much, trust too readily, give too freely, sleep too little, and believe to freely.  These are my worst faults and my greatest strengths.  They are me.  And I am grateful to be myself.