What I'm Thankful For (2011)

As I sit on my couch eating rather stale Tootsie Rolls I found in a plastic baggie at the back of the shelves in the kitchen, it is taking both of my arms and one of my legs to fend off my overly affectionate cat. Since I was out of town for (American) Thanksgiving, she apparently missed me and insists on sitting on my neck or face or shoulder or something, even though I am sitting bolt upright. If you use your imagination, you can see where we might be having some problems.

But other than fending off Squeaky, I also have a couple of minutes to belatedly devote to thinking about what I am thankful for. As an elementary school teacher, I am going to present them to you second-grade-style using standard sentence stems. You'll need to continue using your imagination and pretend that each of the following sentences is written on a construction paper turkey feather sticking out every-which-way from a lopsided construction paper turkey.

I am thankful for my decent health and strength which allows me to work, play, and live comfortably.

I am thankful for my family who supports me and tries their best to understand me.

I am thankful for my friends who make me laugh, counsel me, and take me just the way I am.

I am thankful for a cat who is healthy even in her old age and who brings such entertainment, love, and humor to my little apartment.

I am thankful for my job which every day brings challenges of different sorts, provides me with my living, and gives me the opportunity to interact with and learn from some amazing people.

I am thankful for my students who amaze me, make me laugh, make me proud, and even make me adore them when they have me pulling my hair out and twitching.

I am thankful for a safe, comfortable home where food is always available.

I am thankful for my sense of humor, because without it, life would be much more difficult than it needs to be.

I am thankful for the man who loves me, who makes me laugh, reminds me it is alright to slow down every once and a while, and seems to think that I am someone special. In fact, he does a rather good job making me feel that, despite my quirks, I am a good person.

I am thankful for the ability to play the piano as it brings me and (occasionally) my family such joy.

I am thankful for literature, because without books, I would be lost. As the cover to my nook says, "Books are a finer world within the world", though they are no replacement for your own life, rather to be used as an enhancement.

I am thankful for the educational opportunities I have had that have helped shape me as a professional, educator, permanent student, citizen, and human being.

I am thankful that I am alive because even the days I spend more time crying than laughing couldn't be traded for anything better.