What I'm really thankful for

The list that feels quite worthy of publishing this year:

* A really blessed life. As much as I can let little things get to me and big things worry me, I really have a pretty great life.

* A wonderful husband. He's my partner and my rock and my laughter and my nutrition (figuratively and literally ;). I don't show him enough what he means to me.

* A wonderful daughter. Her sweet, smart, beautiful soul never ceases to amaze me. Her wit and smile and kisses and laughter alone make it all SO EASY. I can't love her enough. I'm still so in awe of the fact that she's ours.

* A healthy pregnancy. This one's been harder to come by or at least to fully appreciate, but I'm so glad to really be in a space where I can simply feel this life growing inside of me. I truly love pregnancy and mean to enjoy it as much as I can until the day I get to enjoy this little person, in person!

* A great family. The love and support my family has given us this year (and last!) has been tremendous. You are all great examples of the kind of spouse/parent/sibling/child/niece/cousin I want to be.

* Really good friends. We don't see you enough or write or call enough, but we love you! We've had lots of friends over the years, and I know I speak for myself when I say this, but I'm most grateful for the ones we have now. You are all high-quality peeps to me!

* A good job. As much as it can feel like a grind, I have it pretty good. A really great boss and set of co-workers, lots of paid holidays, paid vacation and sick leave and the flexibility to care for my family go a long, long way to help me keep my non-family priorities straight (doing good work, being a reliable and productive team member, setting and meeting goals). It also helps that I work for a non-profit education program!

* A fast, fair sale and purchase of our houses. I couldn't let that one go without mentioning. We were SO lucky to finally find what we'd been looking for and then turn around and sell our home so quickly. I know there are millions of others out there who aren't nearly as fortuitous as we were.

* Hope for a country headed back in the right (or rather, left) direction. Lots of things are seriously screwed up right now (to name a few: the war is STILL going on, the economy is in shambles, policy is whacked, we're doing nothing REAL to help the environment) but I now have HOPE that it will get better, that somehow the election of a good, strong person will put us on the path to recovery as a nation and as a planet. Things can't help but change and that is such a good, good thing.