Some of you kept up all month writing something you are thankful for every day. I'm not like that I cram them in all at once. I came up with 13 and that's good enough.
I am thankful for:
1. My husband: Seriously every single day I have had him in my life I have felt deep gratitude. I only hope he feels the same way, otherwise I need to get my act together.
2. My 2 year-old son. He teaches me something new every day, mostly to relax and smell the roses and to slow down and be calm. He's also a constant reminder that we have zero control over other people in our lives.
3. My ability to do jobs most people don't want: I've pretty much always worked with difficult humans in some sense. I've somehow mastered the art of being yelled at and sworn at and having things go terribly wrong in public and been able to deal with it well 99% of the time. I actually have learned to like it, as long as I have a good organization supporting me that doesn't expect me to be a miracle worker (doesn't always happen), I'll take a difficult client and roll with the punches.
4. My fertility: We could have hand-picked the months we wanted our children to be born in if we had wanted to.
5. The Twin Cities: I was moved here when I was two and a half and both my parents are from MN, so really this was sheer luck. But I feel that it's probably in the top three places in the US to live. Especially fond of Minneapolis itself. I don't even think I'd consider moving to St. Paul at this point, I'm too in love with Minneapolis.
6. Running: I never thought I would be a runner and then one day I decided to try and I found that I like it, plus it keeps me strong and fit when I do it.
7. My baby girl: I was actually on my knees praying for a healthy girl when we were trying to conceive this pregnancy and the spirits delivered. I love my son more than I ever thought I could love anyone, but I really wanted a girl too and was not too keen on the idea of having three kids. Though she's not out yet, we could still have a surprise boy.
8. The good friends I've slowly collected over the years: I'm often amazed that you all like me and want to spend time with me. More than anything else you all keep me from indulging in my escapist fantasies of moving to another state.
9. My access to good health care: I've never been without health insurance and this is from sheer good luck. I don't hesitate to make an appointment or head to the hospital when I need to. This is a luxury in the world. I've also managed to find some incredible doctors and midwives who have supported my wishes and treated me well. It makes dealing with the bad ones that much easier.
10. Our finances: Neither of us make a lot, but due to some lucky timing and family help only one of us has student loan debt, we have a duplex that brings in income, and we've hardly paid for any childcare. On paper we should be doing worse than we are, but we've even been able to save money in the last few years. It also helps that neither of us are big spenders and we're both on the same page as far are financial goals go. We've never fought about money.
11. Socialist Alternative: I would feel lost in the world without socialism. It's like my religion, it makes me not feel like such a weirdo for actually having deep faith in humanity and wanting everyone to thrive in the world. Like Che said, I do believe that revolutions come from deep feelings of love. Someday I will do more with them, or at least send them more money.
12. My intelligence: I'm far from genius, and I've basically had to tell my husband that no matter how much he tries to explain the stock market to me, I'm not going to absorb it. But I've been told by three different supervisors now that I catch on to jobs quickly and that they don't really have to worry about me. I remember a lot and do well in school. I used to actually hate that people kept telling me how smart I was, because I didn't think being smart was actually making my life any easier (harder if anything because of the EXPECTATIONS), but I've learned to love this gift and realize it's limitations too. You can't smart your way into happiness, at least not all the way.
13. My growing spirituality: Ever since my son was born, I've felt this connection to something bigger in the universe, I don't know what it is and probably never will, but it's nice that it is there. And I don't think it goes against anything scientific either as we don't know everything about the human mind or the universe yet. I believe we can "know" something without scientific proof of it's existence. I think someday science and the spiritual world will overlap significantly; I just have this feeling.
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