It's been a long semester, my friends. Some of you have only just graduated, some are a step closer to that day, and others have only just begun the long, grueling journey towards your degree. That journey's path is paved with innumerable mistakes and immeasurable successes, as well as incomprehensibly long essays, but now the struggle has come to a screeching halt. It is summer!
There's so much to be thankful for now that we're home again. For starters, praise the powers that be that you get not one, but hopefully many home cooked meals. Nothing says "welcome home" like one of your favorite dishes. Even if what you look forward to best is a local eatery, the longing for that one delicious bite has your mouth watering.
But forget about the food for a moment; let's thank the parents who may or may not cook it! I know some college students who call their parents once a week or more during the year. It's a relief to finally be home where we can talk to them face to face — and I don't have to listen to them for an hour and a half through thin dorm walls in the wee hours of the morning. Remember to mind your P’s and Q’s around the house; young adults should be respectful and well behaved. Plus, it helps to butter them up just in case you might possibly maybe see something really cool on sale while you're out and about. Thanks for the shoes, Mom!
What else should we be thankful for? Air conditioning. If you and your roommate had different ideas about what 76 degrees feels like, then fear no more. Home is where the thermostat is set to a livable temperature. Let's also be thankful for the physical things in life. I'm personally thankful for my nice comfy bed and all my favorite stuffed animals, particularly Fuzzy and Fuzzy, Jr. (I was a very creative child way back when.)
I'm thankful to have all of my books ready for my reading leisure all lined up nice and neat on their shelves. I'm thankful to have a fridge stocked with actual , healthy, filling food. I'm thankful that my older brother stays in his dark and gruesome cave down the hall, playing violent video games quietly into the night without bothering me. I'd like to thank my beloved parents for keeping me comfy and happy at home for the summer.
Still, above everything, I'd like most to thank the little people who I was unable to see for so long. In short, I'd like to thank my dogs. Boy, am I thankful that I finally get to see my dogs. My dogs are what keep me going. I know they'd be proud of me, knowing that I'm chasing after my degree with the same gumption and gusto with which they chase after sticks. In the end, we're all just playing one big-name of fetch, now aren't we? Let's be thankful that life is throwing the right sticks our way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back out there and play around with my dogs. If there's one thing I'm sure of, then it's that they're thankful that I'm home for the summer too!
