Thanksgiving Indeed

Today is Thanksgiving and while we're all eating our turkey and counting our blessings, I wanted to take a few minutes while the turkey is roasting, the family is making their way over and the boy is attempting to nap to acknowledge my own blessings.

This year, much like many others, has had its ups and downs.  Every year has its own ebb and flow of the good and the bad.  I think often I cannot wait by this time to be rid of each year to start fresh.  Instead of concentrating on the negative, I'd like to look at the positives as I try to be more positive.

This year marked the opportunity I was given to talk to the students at two high schools about my book.  It has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I love my writing but I love helping more.  I've talked about this before, but teenagers are scary (Thank you, My Chemical Romance, for putting that notion into song) and somehow I managed to reach a few.  This morning I received a text from one student (Mini Me!) wishing me a happy Thanksgiving and this afternoon I received an email from another student who thanked me for the advice I've given her, without knowing it, through my blogs.  I burst into tears when I read that.  Thank all of you - students and faculty - for allowing me into your days, your lives, your hearts. 

My uncle posted today on Facebook that he was thankful for his nieces and nephews - that without us, he wouldn't be here.  I can't conceive of a world without him in it and I'm thankful every day that he's part of our lives. 

I'm thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for their support, their love, their humor and the sense of "home" that they offer me.  Without them as my foundation, I'd wash away. 

I'm thankful for my son, for all he teaches me every day.  Kindness and patience and wonder and amazement.  I'm thankful for each day I'm granted to spend with him, to raise him. 

This year I almost lost a very dear friend.  There have been many dark days for him but as they've gone by, he and I have both realized that brighter ones are ahead.  I've learned that when someone is at their worst, they need you at your best.  I've tried very hard to be that.  I've learned never to give up on someone, to have hope that they can do better, be better.  He hasn't disappointed me in that. 

I've learned and am thankful to know that there will never be a day when there are no more things to learn, even about myself. 

I'm thankful to have my second career in writing, to have been given the gift to share my words with others, no matter how frightening that is.  I'm thankful for the unending support of people I never would have imagined would offer it. 

I'm thankful for the new friends I've made this year and the way they've changed me. 

When you stop to think of all the positives, change your perspective a little, things stop seeming so dreary.  It shouldn't take a holiday from work to make me see these things, but perhaps now that I have, I can continue the idea of Thanksgiving into every day.