For this I give thanks

It's a couple of days past the holiday, but that doesn't mean the thanks have to stop. I had a great holiday, full of good food, laughs, family, and friends. There was plenty of turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, pies, cakes - and of course, beer.

A few weeks before the holiday my Aunt, at whose house we always celebrate the holiday, had a health scare. Well, a bit more than a scare but everything is going to be fine. And there are a few things that are happening in my life that could lead (and have led) me in to crying fits. Then I take a few minutes and realize just how fortunate I am and how good I really have it, and so I've decided to share those things I'm most thankful for.

I'm thankful for an amazing support system - my parents, my siblings, my extended family, my friends, new and old. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them.

I'm thankful for my health - because without that, everything else would be so much harder.

I'm thankful for all opportunities in front of me - I may not be exactly where I want to be and I may not know exactly where I'm going, but I do know, based on everything I've been through in the past, that I'll appreciate and trust in the journey.

There are so many other things I'm thankful for - music; books; beer; a cloudless blue sky; a dark, starry night; movies; wine; new foods to try; my car; the Phillies; a warm bed on a cold night - so many things that are such a part of our daily living that we take it for granted. I'm going to try not to do that. I'm really going to try and show thanks, in some small way, every day for the incredible people and things that surround me. Your life may not always be what you expect it to be but that doesn't mean it's not exactly what it's supposed to be.