Thankful

I spend a lot of time on this blog whining about life circumstances. While I appreciate an having an avenue for blowing off steam, I'm also not always grumpy. In fact, thanks to this blog, I am usually even pretty happy. So as a change of pace and in honor of the upcoming holiday, I thought I'd lay out my thanks.

1. My son- thankful does not even begin to cover it. I have dreamed of being a mother for decades and obsessed over it for years. While it may not be the Hallmark commercial I envisioned, it far exceeds what I imagined. His presence in my life is a source of constant joy. I could never have anticipated a love so deep that to even attempt to describe it brings me to tears. Trite as it may sound, I would lay down my life for this boy.

2. My husband- boy, does he deserve a medal (however, lest we get too sappy, sometimes so do I). He has been my best friend for a decade, my support when life falls down around us, a better father to my son than I could have asked for. He is steady, reasonable and kind in a world that can be turbulent and mean. I could not be the wife and mother I am without him.

3. My family and in-family- for always pulling through when necessary and for the type of unconditional love that I have only come to understand in the last 14 months. We are lucky between the two of us to have 4 wonderful parents.

4. My health- ok, sure, reproductively I suck. But if that's the worst of my health worries, then I am pretty lucky.

5. For all of our creature comforts- I have never been hungry (besides self-induced hunger), live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, sleep in a soft bed, revel in my air conditioning. I have all of the basic necessities and then some.

Ok. I could go on. But I won't. Amidst the struggle for such a basic and deep-seated human experience, the experience of family, there is much to be thankful for.