Sunday, November 6, 2011

The First Six Thanksgiving Thanks

I’ve said before that November is one of my favorite months. Of course being my birthday month helps, but there’s another thing I love about this month and that’s my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. To me, Thanksgiving is the one of the most special holidays around because it’s all about taking the time to appreciate all you have in your life. It’s what Christmas should be, but unfortunately consumerism has ruined that holiday, which is a shame, so all we've got left is this one...


Source: LiveWireBlog

Last week on Facebook some of my friends decided to post one thing that they’re thankful for every day of the month, which I think is a great idea. Now some of us have more than others and some have even less, but we all have some things in our lives that we are grateful for. Every year I pose a journal question for my students, asking them to name five things they are thankful for, and the exercise does cause them to think and appreciate, which is what it’s supposed to do. I always enjoy reading them and now I plan to write my own.

I’d like to take the Facebook thing one step further by doing it here, on my blog. That way I can play by my own rules, posting pictures to go along with the things I’m thankful for and writing as much or as little about it as I want. Since today is already the 6th of the month, I’m going to catch up right away by naming six things I am thankful for. Beginning tomorrow I will add a daily post to the project. None of the things I list will be in any particular order, they’ll just be things that are in my brain at the time I add them. So without further adieu, I begin my Thanksgiving Thanks with six things I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful for my iPod

Okay, no one should be surprised by this one, and I’m sure that there are many of you out there who would also include this on their lists of things to be thankful for. Music is a big part of my life and the iPod is the greatest invention ever for listening to music. I have all of my songs in one small, compact space and I can listen to anything I want virtually anywhere. I was crushed last night when I had lost it, but thankfully I found it this afternoon. Big sigh of relief!

I’m thankful for my sister Gina

I went to mom’s house today for dinner, but it was also kind of a special occasion. My sister Gina, who lives in Queens, has a birthday coming up and she came out today to do some laundry and have a little birthday cake. My brother Dave and his family were there, as were mom, my sister Ann Marie and her pal Rihanna.

Anyway, I’m not always too happy with Gina…she’s often out of touch with the rest of us, but whenever I see her, I can’t help but not be upset with her, but love her even more. She’s one of the sweetest people I know and she’s got a really good heart. She’s also got this childish sort of humor that’s a little on the gross side…flinging pretend boogers at people, saying words with her burps, or cutting sometimes horribly smelling cheese. That's my sister Gina, and I’m thankful she’s around even sometimes.



I’m thankful for Dylan and Diego

I know that cats often get a bad rap with people, but I love having mine around. My guys are cute and cuddly and they always give me unconditional love!




I’m thankful for my home

In all my life I never envisioned that I would ever be able to maintain a house all by myself. When I first bought my house from Joe more than 3 ½ years ago, I was scared because I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I’m proud that I’ve been able to make my mortgage payments and take care of a house all on my own for the past three and a half years!



That’s not to say that I’ve changed my mind about things…I have no idea what the future holds and I’m still just waiting things out for what, I’m not sure. Still, so far so good. I have a house that I’m proud to call my own and for that I am thankful.

I’m thankful for my job

There have been a couple of interactions I’ve had recently that have added to the certainty that if I’ve done anything right in this life, I’ve chosen a profession I was born to be in. Being a teacher comes naturally to me. I love what I do, and I know I do it well, so yeah!



I’m thankful for my health

There’s no escaping deteriorating health at some point in your life. As we age, things happen to our bodies in their natural progression that you cannot avoid: getting tired more often, losing hair where you want it and getting some where you don’t, achy bones and muscles…all that and more. All in all, though, I must say that I am very lucky. Though I don’t take care of my body as well as I should, I do enough that I’ve managed to stay mostly healthy and youthful looking for my age, and of course I’m thankful for that!



So there you have it, six things I am thankful for, one for each day of November this far. Starting tomorrow I’ll be adding a new one each day until the month comes to an end. In the meantime, I ask you, “What are you thankful for?”

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