you begin to wonder why you came

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, when everyone seems to be in a good mood and people are cordial to each other, even if they don't know each other, I feel compelled to write a little something about what I am thankful for. Mostly, I'm thankful for the people that are in my life. Those people that care about the little details, the people that know what goes on in my everyday life and the people that maybe don't, but care enough to send an email or give a call. We can all be thankful for family and friends, but I wanted to take a moment to actually recognize things I appreciate about all of you:

1. You listen. You listen to all my psychotic ramblings about stupid things that you've probably heard me talk about a million times and don't bother telling me so. Thank you - it's very gentle of you to not point out my small obsessions.

2. You tell me things about you. We all get so entrenched in day to day activities, that sometimes, we need someone else's life to shake us out of our own self-absorbedness (yes, I made up that word just now).

3. You make me laugh. Even if it's just something stupid, I appreciate that.

Those are just a few that encompass all of you, but there are many small, individual things that make each of you important to me in different ways. (I'm starting to sound a little weepy, so I'll quit with that tangent...)

Other things I'm thankful for? Traffic cops (I'm serious!), my health, good books, snow, good music, coffee and those extra few minutes when I actually feel like I can make dinner, sit down and eat it. I'm thankful for intelligent people who tell me things that I don't know. I'm thankful for people that don't think the same way that I do. I'm thankful for the white lies that people tell me that make my day better, even though they may not be 100% accurate or true. And I'm thankful for opportunities. Even if I don't take them, they are still there. And who knows, maybe one of these days, I'll work up enough courage to actually do those things.

I could list so many more, but I need to keep an eye on my squash.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope you get good food, rest, and time with those that you love.

Quote o' the day:

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy