Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I like it because it’s simple. It’s food and family and friends and the mindful act of appreciating just how lucky we really are. I don’t do that enough, because I’m usually too caught up in the whirlwind frenzy of my head to step outside of myself, look around, and say, “Huh, it’s not all hearts and stars and unicorns, but shit is pretty awesome.”
And really? That’s enough to be thankful for right there. But there are other things too.
I’m thankful for newness, for the chance to start over, with anything, at anytime. I’m thankful that I finally realized that it’s never too late to swim in new waters. I’m thankful that I had the balls to take advantage of that chance, that I made a decision, picked a city, and am working on stacking the building blocks of my life together.
I’m thankful for nuance, for details, for the in-between-the-lines stuff.
I’m thankful for honesty. And sex. And friends who let me talk honestly about sex. I’m thankful for sunshine, for a perfectly mixed cocktail, for scarves and soft cheese and for all of the travel photography that has me desperate to live to the edge of our world.
I’m thankful to be surrounded by friends who are so talented, I never know whether to be jealous or elated.
I’m thankful for the upside of my insomnia, because it means laying in bed thinking how delicious it is to be 24 years old at a time when the possibilities exploding around me are better and better, second by second.
I’m thankful that this year, there’s just so damn much to be thankful for. Like getting to spend Thanksgiving in San Francisco, in the company of someone who lights my mind on fire in a maddening way.
I’m thankful for that. And for iced tea. And for those who are doing their best to leave each day better than they found it.
I’m thankful for the community of people who read this blog, people who somehow seem to find it at least mildly endearing that I’m completely batshit crazy.
I’m thankful that technology makes my world bigger and smaller at the same time. And I’m thankful to have a mother who reminds me when to unplug from it all and just be.
I’m thankful that I’ll never be too old to appreciate lollipops, never be too tired to say goodnight, and never be too self involved to forget why we have one mouth and two ears.
And, more than anything, I’m thankful that I’m finally learning how to let people in.
What are you thankful for?
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I've never taken my insomnia on a positive note, maybe I'll start to. Letting people in can be tough, but eventually it needs to happen, or at least I think so. I kinda feel where you are on a lot of these things.
I'm thankful for my company being acquired in 2008, and my entire HR team being let go. The experience let me travel to Cancun, Key West, and Vegas. It also lead to the creation of my blog, and the shit ton of awesome people that I've met from it. Unemployment has allowed me to really see who I am, without conforming to corporate rules and making myself believe that I belonged inside corporate boundaries. I do to an extent, but I've realized my full potential, and without my unemployed state none of what I've learned over the last 9 months would have never happened.
Great post!
I'm thankful for finding this blog! Seriously, I feel like it will change and entertain me for years to come…Happy Turkey Day, N!
Beautiful.
Canadian Thanksgiving has come and gone, but being thankful never goes out of style, so in the spirit of that..
I'm thankful for Julia. Thankful that I have someone who has never given up on me. Who offers her support, guidance & love every single day. She makes me laugh until I can't breathe. She challenges me. She has made me a better person. I am so very, very thankful for her being a part of my life.
I love that among this list, you found the time to mention your thankfulness for cheese
I'm thankful for your awesomeness and your return to California even if it's kind of the wrong end.
I'm thankful you wrote a thankful post. I did too. I'm on a total "happy, warm, fuzzy feelings" kick. We'll see how long it lasts. (knock on wood)
First of all, I'm not sure what's wrong with your Thanksgiving, but mine is chock fucking full of unicorns. Maybe it's the birthday that forced other-worldly entities into the mix (turkeys are pretty boring, after all) but I don't know what this weekend would be like without horned-horses with wings chllin' in our backyard.
I'm thankful for the way all of you massive writers make me think about how to express myself, on and offline. The use of language to communicate, rather than get from point A to point B. The diligence of though that it requires to be a blogger, which in the long list of things that you can Be in this world is one of the most incredible things that you can Be.
Unicorns pretty much rule
Whoops, posted as the wrong Matt Stratton. I'm still me, though. And unicorns are still chock full of awesome.
*thought*
(I got distracted by one of the 'corns…)
This year, and especially today, I am glad I know how to ask the tough questions that no one else wants to ask. The ones that rip into a soul and spread light on to it’s dark shadows so it can be rebuild, in a positive way.
I’m thankful that I care enough to ask. And I’m thankful for the people that will accept the help.
I’m thankful for life, my camera, patience, music that can take me to another place and the never ending snuggle.
And you had me at perfectly mixed cocktail
I'm thankful for our pending tea party on Saturday! Yay, at last!
Hmm. Someday I will wrestle your comments section and my face will show up.
I demand blog posts from you and all my writer crushes and you deliver. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU.
I'm thankful for you, and your brutal honesty that is one step above mine because I can't openly talk about my va-jay-jay on my blog. My boss reads it and that would be weird.
I'm thankful for being here, being alive, and all that shit. I don't have unicorns, but I do have, well, this year I ain't got shit because I'll be on a plane tomorrow while most people are stuffing their big fat obnoxious faces with the bird, but you get what I'm saying.
And kudos to anyone who uses the term batshit crazy as much as you do. Or as much as I do. Not sure if I picked that up from you but I dropped the batshit crazy bomb like 8 times today. On one blog post. That's unhealthy, right?
You rock my socks. Thanks for doing what you do, it keeps me alive. Now, post another so I have something to read on the plane, please.
I'm thankful that you inspire me to be a better writer and a better person every time I read your blog. Amazing. And I also love honesty and sex and cheese and iced tea.
I'm thankful for too many things to list, but one of them is this blog. It inspires me.
Mmm…soft cheese. I'm thankful for new beginnings, for the realization that the end of a relationship is not the end of the world, for my kid (who rocks, by the way), for handsome men over the age of 40, for houses close enough to work that I can walk every day, for finding a good pinot grigio, and for my awesome, which kicks my ass and makes me humble. Thanks for the post.
I may have to "borrow" this idea.
btw, I'm thankful for your honesty blogging…it is not only entertaining, but real, which is more than most people in day to day life.
I'm thankful for all my bloggy friends who really get me. That includes you
I'm thankful that you're living an hour away, and hopefully, sooner rather than later, we'll be able to have lunch or drinks or dinner. I'm thankful for the blogging community we are a part of.
There's a lot that I'm thankful for that would sound corny if I said them out loud. But the one thing I'm thankful for, that is particularly relevant to you, is you! No, I'm not a creepy stalker lesbian. I don't know jack shit about you. I've never met you. I've never personally spoken to you. But when I'm running laps around my mind panicking about what a failure my life is and how I can't seem to let anyone get close to me, I read your blog. And I feel a lot less alone, because you seem to snatch these thoughts straight out of the corners of my mind and articulate them. I read your entries, and I feel a lot of hope. And I look forward to the rest of my life!
Thank you Nicole, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I'm thankful you're my friend. I love you.
"update me, fucker!" I'm so, so thankful for you and that you're one of those friends that I can talk to about everything. I'm thankful that I have someone like you in my life that is the most amazing and inspiring and just plain ol' THERE friend. I love you
I'm thankful that I have you in my life. And I'm thankful for the times when life is all hearts and stars and unicorns, because that's what gets me through those times when it's all bleeding hearts and unicorn poo.
Heh. Unicorn poo.
You've learned how to let people in? TEACH ME!
I'm thankful that even with a chronic illness like diabetes, I have access to medication and technology that lets me experience all that is wonderful about Thanksgiving with my family and friends.
I'm also thankful that I have access to the Internet which has saved my life on more than one occasion.
Happy Thanksgiving, Nicole!
I'm thankful for you working so hard to put the Vegas trip together because it was epic, it changed my life, my outlook on life, and I've made amazing new friends because of it.
I'm also thankful that I'm remotely willing to dare to live another life, whether it be as a single twenty-something, contemplating changing career paths, or just daring to be different.
Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving!
I second Nora on the Vegas trip. I'm itching to get everyone together again.
Agreed.
Gorgeous post! I've thankful for cool Summer breezes on hot November nights, Christmas lights, friends who push me further than I could ever go alone and freedom.
Awwww. Love it.
You schmoopy mcschmoopster, you.
If you had to pick any city, San Francisco is definitely not a bad choice! I want to live there some day too! In fact, I don't know anyone who's been to SF and NOT liked it.
It's all about just making a decision and going with it. I just accepted a job offer in Singapore, and I've never even been there! But sometimes, nothing seems to make more sense than plunging into the unknown.
Also, that Brazilian wax thing? I am totally going to try that! I have two exams coming up, so I'm pretty sure I'll only be able to do it before one of them, but either way, IT'S HAPPENING.
By the way, when do you hear back about the job interview, or have you already?
Ah, no, not yet! Hopefully by the end of next week?
Me? I'm grateful for blogging and second chances.
I'm thankful that you took the time to write this post – putting into words what a lot of us are thinking. Here's to another great Thanksgiving – and P.S. next time you're in Chicago we'll have to grab a drink.
i'm thankful for our mutual love of wine and mac and cheese. yeah that pretty much sums it up right there. hope you had a most fabulous thanksgiving!