Saturday, November 8, 2008

I. Am. Blessed.

Thanksgiving has always been my mom's favorite holiday and it ticks her off beyond comprehension when Christmas carols start playing on November 1st. Many times in my life I've heard her exclaim, "How hard is it to be thankful to God!?! Noooooo......we have to skip right over Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas!"
So...in my attempt to be thankful, I've decided to spend the month of November (or some part of November, when there is nothing blog-worthy to blog about) being thankful. I'm going to try not to Oprah-this-out too much and make it like a gratitude journal, but I'm sure that's what it's going to end up looking like. Sorry about that...

In the words of Ani Difranco (Do any of you have any clue who she even is?? Oh well, I'm giving credit where credit is due...):

...I don't always feel lucky, but I'm smart enough to try...

On to the thing that I am most thankful for...my family. Now don't think that any of the other things that I'm thankful for are in any particular order, they're not. Unless you just happen to be next on my list of things that I blog about, then you can go ahead and believe that you're "next best" on my list of things that I'm thankful for.

My mom- I would venture to say that she's the best mom in the world. I'm thinking that maybe I should get a mug for her that says "#1 MOM", but then she would be the owner of a mug that says "#1 MOM" and she would probably not be appreciative of that. She is quite possibly the strongest person I've ever met in my life and has no fear of trying new things (as a matter of fact, you can now hear her on the radio in STL on Saturday nights...you wanna tell me you have the balls for that???). Well, I guess she could have fear, but she hides it really well. When I emailed her to ask if she could send a family picture so that I could post it on here, her response was, "Whose family?"
Wow. I'm glad to know where I get my "quickness" from.

My older brother, Seth- Being two grades ahead of me in school, I lucked out when it came to riding the bus (or I guess not riding the bus, rather). There were two rules when it came to riding in his '88 Oldsmobile. 1) You NEVER go to your locker after the last bell rings....you have 2 minutes to get out to the car or else you WILL be left behind (believe me, it would happen) and 2) Don't ask to have any of your music played. It was Smashing Pumpkins or, well, Smashing Pumpkins.
But I never once doubted the love my brother had for me. In the 6th grade, there was an 8th grade girl who was picking on me. My brother had words with her, but he never told me that he did it...I got to hear through the grape vine like everyone else. That's love.

My little brother, Zack- I still laugh at the fact that I call him my "little brother"...he's 6'4". I was 5 when Zack was born and he was my real life baby doll. It still amazes me that my mom would let me drag him around like I did, but I loved (still do, as a matter of fact) my "little bwolow" (I couldn't say my R's for a very long time) so very, very much. He is quite possibly the quirkiest kid I've ever met in my life and has the most amazing sense of self. How many people do you know that at age 18 knew what they wanted to be when they "grew up"? And a youth pastor at that! Not many, I'm sure. He continues to amaze me every day.
My sister-in-law, Laura- I sometimes refer to her as my sister, because that's what she feels like. She's been in my life for almost 10 years and I can honestly say that I don't remember life without her around. She managed to give birth to two of the greatest loves of my life, Logan and Sadie, and for that I am eternally grateful. Especially since those two may be taking care of their senile aunt Sarah someday.

My sister-in-law, Jade- When I think of the people that belong together in life, Zack and Jade are definitely at the top of the list. Although she is new to the family (well, newer...they got married last year), I already feel as if she belongs. She brings out the best in my little brother and who could ask for more?

Logan and Sadie- There are truly no words that can accurately describe how much I love these two. 
Thankful would be an understatement...

4 comments:

whatnot said...

I thought I'd check for new blogs before I head out to the station....now I'm crying. I love you so much. (But who is that lady posing as me in the picture with you? Everyone knows I am made of "sock" and wear a large red yard updo.

whatnot said...

Is there no way to edit comments once you hit that publish button? I found 2...yes, 2...mistakes in my previous comment. And I usually pride myself in my stellar grammar and spelling. (I'm actually being snarky...I'm pretty much the queen of typos.) But since it bugs me and I can't sleep, let me take this moment to announce that I have realized that I forgot the right half of the parenthesis and that I don't have red "yard" hair...it's red "yarn" hair. Note to self...don't attempt humor when you're feeling verklempt. (Did I spell THAT right???? I have no idea..doesn't this thing have spell-check????)
I feel better now. Thank you, blog-comment proof-readers, for your time.

Anonymous said...

Hey...This is Laura. I love you!! I'm thankful for my family..er Seth's family...well, you know what I mean.

Anonymous said...

What if I'm THANKFUL for Christmas carols? Does that make it okay to listen to them before Thanksgiving??