It goes without saying that most of us are thankful for our family, their health, our health, all the blessings in our lives (no matter how hard they sometimes are to find), our friends and our pets and the roof over our heads.
But I'm here today to acknowledge a few things that I'm thankful for that often times get overlooked.
The Susan Luccis of the thankfuls.
The things that on Thanksgiving want to stand up and wave their arms and shout, "HEY! OVER HERE. WHAT ABOUT ME?"
About 10 years ago, back when I was the type of mother that was energetic and crafty and full of FamilyFun ideas (i.e., before I became so tired and over it all), I set up a real tree branch on the kitchen counter and cut out construction paper leaves for everyone in the family to write what they were thankful for.
As expected, we had leaves that said, ....my cats and my baby sister and my friends, ....my health and my wonderful family, ...my family, this wine I'm drinking and naptime (totally mine, btw), and ...my dog, my friends, this dinner.
And then there was Husband's, which simply said, toast.
And it was brilliant.
Because, seriously, who isn't thankful for toast?
So this year I've been thinking (which alone should take the #1 spot on my list), and I've decided to come up with a list of 17 things for which I am truly thankful are in my life, but that often times have to hide in the shadows of the 'populars' (friends, family, health...the ones who get all the credit...the mean girls of the list).
17 things for which I am truly thankful (in no particular order...as evidenced by #7 not being #1)
1. the internet
who would I be without facebook, twitter, my blog, E!, Pinterest and Zappos? A sad shell of a woman, I tell ya.
2. cable TV
Dexter, Homeland, Girls....better than any move I've seen in the past few years.
3. Costco
because shopping for an obscene amount of food for your family and a lot of other crap you don't really need while eating a $1 Churro is awesome. God Bless America.
4. flannel sheets
I live in Minnesota. Believe you me, they're something to be thankful for.
5. Target popcorn
Seriously, do they pop crack in there? I am powerless when they are popping a fresh batch, and thankful for it every time. I doubt the Target employees who have to clean up my popcorn trail are as thankful.
6. Q-tips
I probably use about 5 a day...cleaning out eye-gunk, ear-gunk, applying ointme...this list is about to provide waay TMI so I'm gonna stop. Let's just say that Q-tips are indispensable to me.
7. Baio's comeback
if you and your kids aren't watching "See Dad Run" Sunday nights on Nickelodeon you are sorely missing out. And even if I wasn't practically facebook friends with Baio, I'd still be pimping his show. Maybe.
8. the comeback of frozen yogurt shops
We're a little late to the resurgence here in Minnesota, but as a former High School FroYo worker, I couldn't be happier to once again be able to eat a gigantic cup of crushed oreos and m&ms and butterfingers...with a dollop of yogurt on top.
9. dental flossers
Seriously, who's the genius who thought of those? I'd like to give him a handshake and a baggie of all the crap I'm now able to pull out of my teeth without cutting the circulation off of my fingertips.
10. scoopable cat litter
If you have a cat, you'll understand.
11. flip flops
When I'm right, I'm right.
12. Seat heaters
I live in Minnesota. Believe you me, they're something to be thankful for.
13.
which often makes me thankful for
14. Advil
15. The printed word
You know what I'm talking about. Books, magazines, catalogs with real pages. And I feel like if I don't stop and be thankful for them now I will blink and they'll just be a memory.
16. hot water
Think about it.
17. Sunsets
A beautiful reminder of how fleeting time is...and to be thankful for it all.
And in all seriousness, I want to take a moment to also be thankful for things that might not seem like things that should make my list, but that go right up there with my family's health and Target. The bad days, the silly arguments, the stresses of work, the laundry that never gets put away, the overflowing trash can in the bathroom, the worry about money. Because even though these are things that can get you down and seem like the end of the world, all it takes is one second (or one bad storm) to put it all in perspective. And much like how you can't just love the good pet (or the good kid), you gotta take the bad with the good, because they kind of go hand in hand.
And I hope it goes without saying that I'm beyond thankful for you, my invisible friends, and for the silly joy that this blog has brought to me over the past 8 months. Thank you for reading. Thank you for humoring me and sticking around.
Besides Q-tips (and my family and our health), you're at the top of the list.
are we married to the same man? I used to tease Jeremy that he loved me more than toast haha
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