Gracias. Merci. Danke. Arigato. Obrigado. Xie xie.

This hasn't been a very good year for me... or so I'd like to think. It's really more along the lines of "things haven't been going my way this year." But today I want to force myself to step out of my bitter-box and really reflect on the good things I have in my life. So... I present to you my list of Things for Which I am Truly Thankful. In no particular order.

1. Family. Including the dog. And the extended family (cousins, second cousins, godsons, etc). Maybe I should have listed extended family before dog... lol.
2. Friends... the ones I see every week and the ones I don't get to see as often as I like. They all keep me sane.
3. My job and my co-workers. The pay is bad and I often feel underappreciated, but the truth is... I don't think I'll ever find another "work family" like this one. I will truly miss them when I eventually leave.
4. Weddings. I bitch about "always a bridesmaid, never a bride," but I'm thankful that I have friends who have found happiness. And also thankful that they want me to be a part of their happiness by standing with them on their wedding day. (But I'm not so thankful for the closet of bridesmaid gowns I'm collecting...)
5. My students. I teach them... and they teach me. It's pretty much even. They make me smile when I'm having a bad day. They tell me I'm the "best teacher EVER," and I believe it coming from them. I may be single, but I get more hugs, hand-holdings, "I love you's", and random gifts than many of my coupled friends. Can't get that kind of love from an office job.
6. My health. (No explanation necessary.)
7. Booze. (No explanation necessary here, either.)
8. The apartment. It's not so bad, compared to some other places. And the noisy neighbors are... well, they're tolerable. Most of the time. Even though their TV is currently so loud that I can hear every note of the Thanksgiving Day parade.
9. My education. I'm lucky to have parents who impressed upon me the importance of learning. I've never once taken it for granted.
10. My boobs. They're nice.
11. The unique qualities that make me ME. And the fact that my friends and family love me because of (or in spite of) those qualities.
12. My faith. It gets me through when nothing else can.

Thank you. Seriously. And go be thankful yourself. It feels pretty good.