Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I love it for so many reasons. Our home is always warm, happy, and smelling of wonderful food. We get to see family, a real blessing since not everyone has that ability, even if we do still find ourselves missing our loved ones that are far away. We get to have an INCREDIBLE feast- almost every food that I find to be comforting or part of childhood tradition will be on one table. And then, I really get to spend time thinking about what I'm thankful for.

The thankful part is something I take very seriously. We all slip into taking life for granted occasionally. Little problems (like a sleepless child or a home renovation) start to feel bigger then they actually are. But every now and again, something happens that reminds you of what you have, who you are, and what really matters. I cherish those moments of humanity. I relish in occasionally realizing that I've taken myself too seriously, that I am acting with a privileged perspective, or that I've forgotten for a second what really matters. If you're never given those moments to snap out of it, you never get to fully embrace your blessings. Thanksgiving happens to be a time I can count on every year for bringing me back to myself.

Tonight, I am thankful for the gaping holes in my shower, because it means that we have the ability to improve our home. I am thankful for the child crying by his door because it reminds me that he is healthy and smart and social. I am thankful for my job because although it has its stressful moments, it makes me feel a pride, excitement, and desire to improve that I've never known before. I am thankful for my open and occasionally over-sensitive heart because it allows me to love so many different and incredible people, so very deeply, and I can never hold grudges.

But more than anything, I am thankful for my tiny family. I had no idea when I first met Drew, a starving artist with the most beautiful green-gold eyes and wicked sense of humor, that he would be the man to build my dreams with me. I had no idea I was looking at my partner in crime, my partner in snark, my partner in life. I had no idea that he'd make the most breath taking father. And here we are, 10 years later. He still makes me laugh. He has grown into an incredibly strong and sensitive provider. He has never wavered in his support of me and his pride in what we have made together. This life, this home, our children- are our badges of honor, our greatest accomplishments, our legacy. I am forever thankful for the moments that brought us together, and the others that made us grow up and seize what we'd been given.

When Griffin came into our lives, I thought my heart would explode with the swell of love, pride and responsibility he brought me. He is silly and sweet and gentle. He is creative and intelligent and stubborn. He is absolutely perfect, and he makes me melt with a single look. And now I have this huge gift- the ability to get to know another amazing human being at such an intimate level. I get to give Griffin his best friend and greatest adversary, and the person who will "get it" when he needs to talk about how crazy his parents are. I will get to experience my heart growing even more- to a capacity I've never known. I will get to watch two tiny people grow into whoever they are meant to be, and the whole way, I will see Drew in them- in a look, an action, a certain passion for football.

So I am thankful for so very many things. But especially for the people who make my house a home, and make me laugh in a way that only we do. For my husband, my son, and my little Sprout, I thank you universe. From the very bottom of my heart.

there was something about my boys holding hands as they strolled through Home Depot today that made me swoon, and I was thankful even for that tiny moment.