Thankful

I've been griping about the Facebook meme in which people post what they're grateful for every single day...but was reminded by my other half that that probably wasn't the best reaction. And, reading their posts, I've seen that we all have a lot to be thankful for. My FB friends, though, seem to be mostly thankful for their children - their children's antics - their children's good health - their children's teachers - etc. I'm sure you can sense a theme there. It can be difficult to ONLY see gratitude related to having children, so I've been thinking about what I am thankful for / grateful for despite my lack of offspring.

• I'm thankful for my husband, every day. He makes me laugh, he supports me in whatever I do, he makes me rethink my entrenched positions on certain things (ahem, see response to FB meme, above), he reminds me that our lives are full and fulfilled without children. I am a better person for having met him and - thankfully - married him.
• I'm thankful we are able to live where we do. I love living in a smaller town. I love living in what the rest of the country considers "flyover country". I love living in a University town, and having a commute that 3 short years ago - when I was riding an express bus 45 minutes to and from work every day - I could not have dreamed of. I'm thankful that we're able to get by with one car, thanks to where we live.
  
• I'm thankful for my job and the people I get to work with. Even given major organizational changes this summer - the variety of (ahem) personalities that populate academia - the difficulty obtaining research funding in the current climate - there is nothing I would rather be doing. I never thought I'd end up here (both in this type of job and in this particular geographic location), but now I know that it is the best job that I have ever had.
  
• I'm thankful for my family, even though they're 1500 miles away and we won't get to see them until late December. I'm also thankful for how understanding they are of our inability to attend the major extended family holiday on Thanksgiving. They make it easy - or, if not easy, at least tolerable - to be the non-attendees among the 30+ extended family members who gather for a day of gluttony. ;)
  
• I'm thankful that I get to live in a country with a holiday dedicated to Thanksgiving - that we can all share in, regardless of our religious beliefs (or lack thereof).
  

I debated writing about my efforts to be less Grinchy this year, or my dawning realization that I think I have body image issues. But I'm glad I ditched that plan to reflect - at least for a few minutes - on how lucky I am, and how much I have to be thankful for.