Before the Christmas songs on the radio and the Christmas trees in shop windows force us to look beyond the season of thanks, or before our sleepless nights in the library studying for exams pushes us to the very edge...we must take a minute to acknowledge all that we are thankful for as another year begins to make its closing remarks. We must remember this past year, all the years before it, and everything they've given us to get us to this day.
We are so blessed for it all.
So, here are 10 things to be sure to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:
1. Family
We didn't pick them, but now know we wouldn't have picked anyone else, given the chance. Even your little sister who insists your clothes are hers. They have been there for you since your very first day and they'll tell you they don't need to hear you say "thank you" for them to know you are, but thank you family. Thanks for answering my 2 a.m. phone calls even though there was nothing important to say. Thanks for bailing out my checking account before the IRS hunted me down. Thanks for teaching me how to cook so I didn't starve in school. Thanks for teaching me how to change a tire before that time I broke down on the interstate. Thanks for allowing me go to the school of my dreams.
2. Friends
The ice cream-bearing angels given to us before and after a bad break up. The people that will gladly listen to our problems, tell us when we're being melodramatic and still help bury a body, if need be. The same people who will be honest about our outfits and let us know we're starting to sound crazy. Thanks for all the times you were a better friend than me. Thanks for keeping up with me over the years and being the first to let me know when it was time to slow down. Thanks for making high school fun and college more than memorable.
3. Health
The thing that's been progressively easier to maintain over the years, but not come flu season. Thanks for staying in check for the most part and not making a mountain out of a mole hill or a seasonal cold into pneumonia. Really, thank you.
4. Freedom
The part of our lives we all too often take for granted. The gift fought for by the strong and brave. The word we don't know life without. Thanks to the men and women who risk their life every day in order to ensure our lives are filled with great opportunities. Thanks to the troops that may not make it home this holiday season. Thanks to the families who've lent their loved ones to protect our country. Thank you for making it easy to be proud to be an American. Thank you for being the real heroes.
5. Love
The deep feeling we may only find once, or find a hundred times in our lifetime. The putting of another before yourself. The wishing them the best, even if you don't feel it's best. Thanks for being full of mistakes. Thanks for coming around at the best and worst times. Thanks for making first kisses special and the last ones breathtaking. Thanks for making cheap wine and romantic comedies an all too normal combination. Thanks for not giving up on me when I give up on you.
6. Youth
The golden days of our younger years. The first friends we ever made, the first sport we ever tried out for, the first teacher that really cared and the first party we ever went to. Thanks for reminding me why Busch Light doesn't get better with age and that some friends are seasonal. Thanks for forming my sense of style and transforming it ever since. Thanks for making my first car accident my last. Thanks for teaching me the basics. Thanks for letting me learn the hard way even though I insisted I knew it all at 18.
7. Lessons Learned
The nights we went out and instantly regretted. The 8 a.m. exam you procrastinated studying for and, not so surprisingly, bombed. The boy you actually texted back at 2 a.m. The $3 left in your bank account because you really needed J. Bieb's deluxe album. Thanks for being temporary mess-ups that won't be repeated twice. Thanks for giving me new insight and perspective. Thanks for still teaching a lesson even when I wasn't willing to accept defeat.
8. Lessons TO be Learned
It's all the mistakes yet to be made. It's all the times that will make great stories that I'll never tell my children. It'll be the time we relapse on a bad habit, or the time we make the same mistake twice. Regardless, we need these lessons throughout our life. Thanks for continuing to teach us something. Things like being kind, gracious, forgiving, helpful, courageous and being the best version of our yesterday self.
9. Memories
Your mind's most glorious collection of the good, the bad and the ugly. The time you fell off your neighbor's trampoline and broke your arm. The times you snuck out of your window because going through the front door was too risky. The time you rode around until 4 a.m. blaring T. Swift and ended up an hour away from home. The time your after-prom party got busted by the cops. The first time you fell in love. The first time you fell out of it. Thanks for making up who I am. Thanks for being the sweet and bitter reminders. Thanks for being the best of times more than the worst.
10. Time
The thing that everyone will tell you you're running out of, but are surely not. The thing that is said to heal all wounds. The thing that grows us, matures us and pushes us into the next chapter. Thank you for 11:11 wishes and the echo of my parents saying, "Nothing good happens after midnight." Thanks for the days passed and the hopeful days to come. Thanks for the time to be carefully spent and the time to be carelessly wasted. Thanks for the relief that comes with a bad day done and the excitement that comes with the sun rising in the morning.
These are the things to be thankful for.
