Thankful

Crazy. That's been my life this month! I've had some false starts, what felt like a wild-goose chase, and several changes of Thanksgiving plans. While there are a few things I wish would have fallen into place, I would not trade this life for anything. My girl Brenda has made it a Thanksgiving tradition to sit down and list the things she is thankful for -- and encourages others to do the same.

Just like we shouldn't start anew only on New Year's, love only on Valentine's Day, thank a veteran only on Veteran's Day (you get the idea), we should be thankful for every day we're given, not just on Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

• My great friends, some further away than others, and some I haven't seen in years.
• Facebook! I know it's perhaps silly to some, but it keeps me connected to friends near and far. (Plus it has a killer Scrabble app!)
• The work I get to do, often with a fresh cup of coffee and sometimes still in my pjs. While sometimes isolating, my freelance writing has developed into a rewarding career.
• A warm house to take shelter in, and the ability to pay the propane bill that is coming my way later this week.
• My family. Although it's scattered over three states these days, I somehow feel closer to them than ever before.
• My freedom. I've learned a lot over the past few months that's made me appreciate it even more -- so many people have sacrificed their own freedom to fight for ours.
• My new cochlear speech processor. Although all the sounds can be overwhelming at times, I'm truly enjoying its clarity, the help it is giving me with my lipreading & speech, and listening to music. (Stephanie, I hope you'll forgive me someday for buying that Kid Rock CD!)

All this and so much more. I'm grateful.