For so much I am thankful

In so many ways I make it a point to avoid doing things that everyone else does simply because, well, everyone else does them. I suppose it is the loaner who still lives inside of me. Regardless, there are some things that supersede my silly idiosyncrasies for the sheer fact that they do, in fact, serve to make me a better person.

Being thankful is certainly not something I struggle with, but it is something that I so often do not take the time to contemplate on a daily basis. As a matter of fact I am fairly certain the last time I wrote in my gratitude journal was some time in 2009. And so I will join so many others and make the effort each and every day this November to express my gratitude. It's a little hokey and I'm not going to be posting on Facebook and bragging about my righteousness or anything, I simply want to take the opportunity to reflect a bit on how much good really does exist all around me.  Sure, I could sit down and make a list right this moment of 30+ things for which I am thankful, but I am making it my personal challenge to give thanks for something that occurs each and every day. Heck, some days I may find more than one thing and it goes without saying that there will be days where my gratitude will be expressed for something as pathetic as the fact that I got my teeth brushed because that, indeed, can be a feat on certain days. I will not make this fancy, I will not attempt to photograph everything nor will I create some sort of template in an effort to look good while being humble. I want to keep the focus as clear as possible without the distraction of meeting my own ridiculous expectations. So here is to finding the good, acknowledging life as it happens, and focusing on the positive. Today I am thankful.

Today I am thankful for a best friend who does not care that the house is a mess or that dinner is the same as it was the last time she was here; who is able to leave off and pick up a conversation without so much as a "where was I?" when the kids are up to no good (which is all.the.time.); and who doesn't need to be asked to carry on feeding Beck while I am spraying off the remains of Anderson's puked-up dinner not even 2 minutes into our meal. It truly was quite a night.