thankfully: a list

I can't believe that it's already Thanksgiving. This year has certainly been a whirlwind, and I have lots and lots of things to be thankful for.

1. Anniversary. Ten years. Wow. Not that there haven't been days that I would've place even money odds on us not making here, I am so thankful that we made it. I'm looking forward to running away to New York City next week to celebrate.

2. The Griff. That boy teaches me more about life and love and compassion than I could possibly ever imagine. I still remember the first day I brought him home and watched him sleeping on my legs. He taught me how to be still. I am thankful every single day for him.

3. Z. What is there to say? His eyes sparkle with mischief and life. He approaches the world with complete gusto. Everything he does is larger than life. And his sense of humor is amazing. He loves completely. I am so very blessed to get to be his mother.

4. Job. I don't talk about my job much here except to occasionally make allusions to some of the random chaos. What I don't say is how thankful I am to work in a place that makes a difference in peoples lives. My job challenges me and forces me to stand up and be out there. And I get to work with some pretty amazing people. How cool is that?

5. Oklahoma. I am blessed to live in such a young state. I get to be part of creating who we are and how the world sees us. Our past is still so intertwined with our present that we have to deal with it every single day. We have stories that need to be told. We can't ignore the violence and depravity that brought so many of our people here, but we aren't a dumping ground. We are creative and industrious and intelligent and worthy of being defined on our own terms instead of looking at the rest of the county to figure out who we really are.

6. Flying. I love to fly. I love airplanes and airports and airport people. I am thankful that I got to go to ground school this year. Next year, I'm flying.

7. Friends. I have the most amazing friends ever. I can't even begin to explain how rich my friends make my life. They are my sounding board, and they make me laugh every single day. I am so very lucky.

Really, this list doesn't scratch the surface. I live a charmed life, and when I get frustrated or overwhelmed or just down, I need to remember how very lucky I am.