Things to be thankful for

Well, it’s almost Thanksgiving here in the States.

A day of feasting on turkey or ham, usually involving the female…or the male…whoever does the cooking, getting up at the crack of dawn to slave over the food. Usually involves lots of leftovers that get munched on for a few days after. Makes sense, because after slaving four hours over that one meal, who wants to spend much time cooking afterwards?

So it’s just a few weeks away~and after that, the mad rush of the Christmas holiday. I love Christmas, but I don’t always put much stock in Thanksgiving.

If there’s something to be thankful for, I try to remember to thank God for it regularly, not just on a holiday. However, I probably am not as thankful for things as I should be.

So what am I thankful for…

10) my health~okay, I’ve had some medical problems and I get sick a couple times a year. But be that as it may, it could be worse. Instead of asthma and carpal tunnel, I could be have really serious things. So even though I’m dealing with the mother of all chest colds right now, I’m basically thankful that I can walk, that I can see, that I don’t have to spend the majority of my time at medical facilities or getting gillions of tests run, etc etc etc

9) Nice house, decent cars. Even if we’re still paying on them, it’s more than some people have.

8) Friends~I don’t know if I appreciate all of my friends the way I should. The really good friends that I have are always there and it seems like when something is always there, you start to take it for granted. Friends shouldn’t ever been taken for granted.

7) My parents~while we don’t always see eye to eye, I know that there are things about me that came from them. My imagination came from my dad, my love of romance and a good story came from my mom, stubborness came from both of them. I am who I am today because of my childhood and while it wasn’t always rosy, I like who I am, so I’m thankful for that.

And they’ve always known I’d become a writer, even when I didn’t focus on it so much. My mom, especially. She’s always had that faith in me.

6) Nana & inlaws~Nana is the woman who watches my kids four days a week so I can write. This woman is more than a babysitter, she’s part of the family. She puts so much into taking care of my kids and I’m thankful for that. My in laws~well, they spoil the kids rotten, and they are almost always there to watch them when a booksigning comes up or something else that I have to do and the kids can’t come.

5) My writing~while I do put a lot of work into writing, the ability to write isn’t something that I can take much credit for. I’ve always done it, it’s always come naturally. So that’s a gift that I was born with, and one I hope I haven’t taken for granted much.

4) My editor Pam. She’s a doll and she’s always been my cheerleader from day one. She slaved with me while I was trying to nail down POV ~point of view~ and she knew when it was essential to the story to get the POV right, and she knew when it wasn’t quite so important. My writing wouldn’t be what it is today if she hadn’t spent so much time with me.

3) the online community of readers and writers that I’ve gotten in touch with over the past few years. I’ve made some really excellent friends, people like Mary Wine, Renee, Anni, Vikky, Lora Leigh, Jaci Burton and Dianne Castell, just to name a few. I love being able to talk about books~when you talk about a book to somebody who isn’t a booklover, it’s just not very fulfilling. Sharing that love of reading with these people, and my love of writing with the writers, it’s just wonderful to be able to do that.

2) Faith~ it’s gotten me through a lot. Knowing that I’m not alone in life, no matter what, brings a comfort that nothing else can.

1) My family~my kids and my husband. That’s the DH with the birds. We took that picture at the zoo and it’s one of my favorites. I’m so thankful for him and for our babies. Our kids are the light of my life-they make me laugh, make me want to pound my head, and sometimes, they make me want to cry just by hugging me. My husband, he’s my rock, the one person in life that I know will hold steady for me no matter what. He’s my lover, my friend, my heart and soul. I thank God for him and for our babies~as long as I have them, I can handle anything.

So there’s my list. I could probably list more~I’m especially thankful for Godiva chocolate, Tim Tams, a good book and a glass of wine, but those essentially are little things. I was trying to stick with the big ones.

Want to share your list?