Why I am thankful

I am thankful today for so many things, not the least of which is being able to take a moment to reflect on exactly what some of those things are. I am thankful that I have this outlet(writing, blogging, however you wish to term it) to record some of my thoughts on a daily basis if I so choose. So often in my past, things were trapped inside my head and never saw the light of day while my frustration with people not quite understanding where I'm coming from continued to grow.

I'm thankful that I am alive to see another glorious California day in which wearing a jacket is optional and the multiculturalism is mandatory. I love it that I can see people of all sorts of different ethnicities each time I leave my humble abode. I'm thankful that I even have an abode to be so humble about. Many people are losing theirs and I have the nerve to complain sometimes about how much mine is costing me. I'm thankful that I can make the payment for this place, even if only by the skin of my teeth.

I'm thankful that while I may be on the mend after this knee surgery that was much more serious than I had bargained for, I am getting pretty good physical therapy and making some progress. The progress is slow to come and requires a great deal of patience and restraint on my part, but it is progress nonetheless. This time last month, I was still taking narcotics half of the time and awakening with a great deal of back pain in the middle of the night, almost every night. I was walking around like a zombie most days, motivated to do little more than sleep (assuming that I actually could), and in danger of falling asleep each time I was driving for more than 20 or 30 minutes. Even though I've got many more tough months of rehab ahead of me, all of that seems like so long ago. I'm thankful for the little things like walking without crutches and being able to ride an exercise bike or bend my leg into a sitting position comfortably.

I'm thankful to have the opportunity to spend time with my wonderful children and hear about what goes on in their school day, each day. I'm thankful to have local family that I can talk to anytime I want to or drop in on whenever I have the urge. It's such a luxury to know where everyone is going to be on a day like today and to be able to look forward to breaking bread (some serious bread!) with many of them today and relaxing and talking like no time at all has passed since the last time you had a chance to catch up.

I'm thankful for the many people that care about me and look after me in their own ways. There are those that invite me over to eat on those days when I have absolutely nothing at my house. It's as if they have a sixth sense or get a memo informing them that the stock at my place is getting mighty low. There are those that call to say hi or send an email at just the right time. I may not seem appropriately grateful for this correspondence, but I am. I am so much the better because of it.

I am thankful that I am even able to recognize that I have things to be thankful about.