I am thankful...

I am thankful.  For lots of things, really.  I know it might be cliché to only mention it once a year, but it’s times like these that remind us to look around at the things we might take for granted the other 300+ days out of the year. 

I am thankful for my family.  For my parents who are both still young at heart and love each other with reckless abandon.  For my husband, who makes me laugh every day and loves me, warts and all.  For my son, the smartest, funniest, coolest 6^th grader on the planet, who never ceases to amaze me with his kindness, intelligence, and wit.  For my sister, an amazingly strong cancer survivor, who never stops moving, cleaning or loving her family.  I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful that my husband has a job that doesn’t take him into harm’s way anymore.  He served his country proudly and is now able to work for a company that values his service and rewards him for it.  He is able to explore new avenues and do things he has never done before and, while that is a challenge to him sometimes, it is also an exciting new horizon.  I am thankful for his job.

I am thankful for BoyBoy’s school.  After many years in schools that weren’t equipped to challenge his mind, he is flourishing in his new middle school.  They are pushing him and molding him, sometimes painfully, into a happier, more centered child.  He is learning more than what is in the books; he is learning to be a better student, a better friend, and a better citizen.  I am thankful for his school.

I am thankful for the opportunity to follow my passion.  I have always loved photography and finally decided to make it my career.  I am learning more with every picture I take and falling in love with photography all over again.  I am using my creative brain for the first time in a long time and it makes me feel refreshed.  I am grateful for my understanding, supportive and patient husband who is allowing me to chase this dream.  I am thankful for my passion.

I am thankful for my dog.  She greets me every day like I am her favorite person in the whole, wide world.  She never gets mad when I leave her home alone all day and she keeps our backyard squirrel free.  She is sweet and protective and loves to have her belly rubbed.  And I gladly rub it because she loves me unconditionally.  I am thankful for my dog. 

I know that there are more things for which I am thankful.  It is often in the little things that you find your treasures.  Happy Thanksgiving!