Thankful

This morning on KRTY, the DJs asked listeners to text in the foods they were thankful for, and someone must have read my mind, because they texted, "pudding." This may be a little-known fact about me, but I could eat chocolate pudding by the bucket-fulls. Pudding is delicious! But that is besides the real point, which is that the pudding text made me think of foods I am thankful for, and from there, different things over the past year for which I'm thankful.

I'm thankful I have friends who remind me it isn't proper writing etiquette to end sentences with a preposition (nearly did right above!). In retrospect, I did not spend nearly enough time during grad school getting to know the great people I went to school with, but somehow after school was over, I got to keep some of them as friends, and I'm thankful that I have peers who inspire me and push me to be my best.

I am thankful I have truly lovely parents, and that I live at a time of exciting technology that makes the world so small that I can talk to them and see them everyday without much effort. Just a few years ago, this would have been nearly impossible, and at the very least, expensive and frustrating. Back in 2003, internet connections were so crappy by comparison, that even a 5 minute conversation was a hassle, with the image freezing, and echoes, and so on. And speaking of technology, I'm thankful for our office copy machine! It scans documents directly to email, making my life infinitely easier when dealing with hundred-pages long applications.

On the topic of work, I'm thankful for my job, and that it's on a beautiful university campus with hundreds of trees changing their colors right about now. The people I work with or come across during my work day remind me how much one person can achieve if they set their mind to it. Sometimes there is so much ugliness in the world, and so many stupid people seem to populate it, that it's easy to forget there are many people who truly care to make this world better. Some of the things I do at work remind me that even when I feel smug about myself for the small accomplishments I have reached, I come nowhere near what others accomplish.

I'm also thankful that my job comes with a paycheck that allows me to enjoy other things I am thankful for, like my kick-ass boots. There are some articles of clothing that I become very attached to (in the past, these have included certain jeans and pajama pants that I literally wore until they fell apart, my Happy Bunny t-shirt, my silver purse), and my Born boots are my new obsession. I could wear these things all day (actually, I do!). They are the first high-heel shoes I can walk in for hours, and I can't wait to wear them with skirts. The only bad thing is they don't come in black, which I honestly can't understand. Who doesn't make boots in black?

I'm thankful that in a few weeks, I get to go away with my wonderful boyfriend for a little vacation. Even though we live together, and thus have lots of alone time, there is still something really exciting about the idea of being alone (amidst hundreds of strangers) away from home. Even more than being thankful for our vacation, I'm thankful for him, and for the little life we have together, and for the fact that he shares his family with me, and for the songs he sings to me when he practices on his guitar.

I'm thankful for many little things, like left-over candy corn that doesn't seem to run out and always waits for me in the cupboard. And my desk heater at work that keeps me cozy even when it's freezing. And the donuts shop across the street from our apartment that is open 24 hours a day, every day. I'm thankful for lemon pie, which I am seriously craving now that my coworkers went on and on about I'm thankful for my car, which I've had now for almost five years! And our swiveling TV that lets us watch "Dancing With the Stars" even when sitting on different couches. I'm thankful for country music, which keeps me positive and amused, and provides hours of guitar-playing and singing at our apartment. I'm thankful that one of the perks of my job is that I can use any library on campus and check books out for a year. Along that line, I'm thankful for literature, which constantly teaches me empathy. I'm thankful for books on CD, which make long drives feel shorter. I'm thankful that the Bush administration is nearly done, and we have a new chapter to look forward to in the development of our country, and I'm thankful that there are high expectations of our new president, so that he may reach high. I'm thankful for Facebook, which makes work endlessly more entertaining. I'm thankful for many, many things, and people, and hopefully I can keep that in mind throughout the coming year. It's a funny thing about holidays - for a few days, we think about the blessings we have, and appreciate them, and give thanks for them, but it seems like for the rest of the year, we take them for granted.

In just a few weeks, it will be "New Year's Resolutions" time. Last year, I didn't make any, so maybe this year I can make double the resolution to be more appreciative of the blessings I have. But that's not for another month. For now, Happy Thanksgiving!