I'm thankful for...

I know the Pilgrims started Thanksgiving long before our lives got too busy. But since the Mayflower landed, Americans (myself included) have become far too busy and self-absorbed to really sit down and be thankful for all of our blessings. So, in the spirit of my favorite holiday, I'm taking a minute to reflect on my wonderful, blessed life and be truly thankful.

I am thankful for:

My wonderfully dysfunctional family. After everything we've been through, I have 4 people who will let me scream, rant, cry, screw up, and laugh. I also look genuinely forward to being there to reciprocate. That doesn't mean we're perfect, but I'm very thankful we aren't.
Tay and Reed, I'm really proud of y'all.
Mom, thanks for showing me how to be a strong woman who can stand up for herself and bring so much joy to others just by her presence, even if it's in passing.

Friends that:
Make me laugh
Understand how I think and how to cheer me up
Call me or e-mail me to see how I am, even if we don't really stay in touch
I can carry on a conversation with for hours
Try and try again to get together when we know our schedules are too busy to allow it
Let me call them at wildly inappropriate hours for any reason, whether I'm happy, upset or drunk (or all at once)
Will drink with me when I need a drinking buddy
Do something I want to do even though I know they don't want to
Listen to political war stories although I know they don't care
Know the political war stories so we can laugh about them together
Vote because I ask them to
Appreciate my sense of humor, which ranges from illogical to downright vulgar
Take me to their bar
I've known for a while and we've just recently become close again
Let me sing in the car, crash at their house, date their friends (even if they foresee the train wreck), tell me it's a bad idea but don't hold it against me when I do it anyway
I wouldn't hang out with normally but, because I have, they broaden my horizons
Drive aimlessly around or sit on the couch because we want to spend time together but there's nothing else to do
Have ever used the excuse "Whitney's mom has cancer" to get out of something
Let me talk about anything, from complaining about boys or work, to telling them what happened last night even though it's WAY too much information
Buy me flowers because I cried
Still send me thank you cards
Make me sit in the emergency room with them
Talk baseball with me
Watch Mel Brooks movies
Have the same "What are we doing next?" conversation 30 times over
Will tell me I'm immature, unnecessarily confrontational, and short
Cuddle with me and watch movies
Change my flat tire in Buckhead
Like my crazy music
Tell me I'm making bad decisionsT
ell me when they're proud of me
Know the stories from high school or middle school
Share my crappy choices in TV
Don't mind me being an elitist

*I really want to put some of the things that were funny over the last election cycle here. Inevitably, they would hurt someone's feelings, but we all know that's what made them funny. I'll refrain, in a show of self-control that we all know I don't really possess. *

Friends like: Molly, Taylor, Ricky, my big brother Chris, Marty (sorry about Mexico and the Civil War), Michael, Adam, Justin, Heather (and her beautiful baby girl who I can't wait to meet), Byron, Derrick, Patrick, Tom Dodd, Goodies, Amelia, Wylly.. all my angels.

That I had the opportunity to work for someone I believed in and with people I loved for a year. Not everyone gets that opportunity. I'll be the first to admit we got our asses' kicked. But, the cards were stacked against us, and Gary's proud of us. That's all I need.
That I get the new opportunity to work for someone who is going to do amazing things for Georgia.
Georgia small towns because they're all crazy in a unique way. (By the way, a good rule of thumb when traveling: A Georgia city is rarely pronounced the way you think.)
Georgia and US politics, and the grace and wisdom of our leaders.
The American political system, because (let's face it) not all of our leaders have grace or wisdom, and they all have the potential to screw up drastically. Even Republicans.
The men and women in uniform who put their lives on hold to keep us safe. Especially my soldiers, Tommy, Mike, Cory, and Josh.
Breast cancer research that helped my mom and so many other wonderful, strong women survive and that other women won't have to fight. Also, The Susan G. Komen foundation and others who work to make sure the research is fully funded.
Warm weather in November.
Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Richard Bach's Illusions.
The artists that satiate my need for music that no one else listens to.
Baseball season and Brian McCann.
Men that play guitar, drink, are protective, wear cowboy hats, look great in suits, are respectful, take out my earrings when I'm drunk, have a sense of direction (literally and figuratively), are successful, make me laugh, let me act silly and reciprocate, cuddle, know how to be proud of a woman for more than her looks but show her off just the same, and don't subscribe to the Elementary School Teacher Theory. No, they don't need to possess all of these traits; a few will do just fine.
That my heart was good and shattered once and I still survived.
Chocolate cake, red wine, the trip I'm planning to Italy, Georgia back roads, sushi, Harry Potter movies, random drunk boys in bars that give me something to talk about for weeks, strong and fruity drinks, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, insightful quotes, Sunday morning news shows, the Varsity (my hang-over cure), AIM (so I have other people to talk to when I'm bored), Shakespeare Tavern, the Georgia Aquarium, the Kangaroo farm (I still haven't been yet), awkward conversations and situations that are funny later, the humor that comes from people watching and being easily amused, and the million other small things that get me through the day.
The health, well-being, and sense of humor possessed by all of my friends.
Considering I've edited this several times, I'm thankful for all the people and things I've forgotten still.
Finally, and most importantly, a Savior who has given me so much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!