- I'm so incredibly thankful that we have a warm, safe place to come home to every night. - Jeremy and I always look at the huge houses in our area and say "I want a house like that!" or, now that we own a place, we're always looking for ways to make it "better". Then I think about the millions of people in this country who sleep under bridges or in shelters, and it makes our house seem like a palace. To some people, owning a house like ours is a dream - we stay warm and dry, it's clean and sturdy...it really is our very own castle.
- I'm thankful for clean, running water - we recently watched an epidsode of Extreme Home Makeover where the families didn't have running water in their house. Instead, they had a hose coming in their kitchen window. I can't even imagine what it would be like to not have long, hot showers, or water to wash our clothes and dishes with or, most importantly, clean water to drink. Running water really is one of our little luxuries, and it's certainly one we take for granted. I don't even think twice about hopping in the shower, or filling a pot of water for spaghetti. Imagine what it would be like if simple tasks like these didn't happen so simply...
- I'm thankful that we have enough money to buy winter coats, and hot coffee, and shoes and socks - since it's started getting cold out, every day that I walk to work from the Metro station I grumble to myself about the cold. Then, when I walk over the top of the grates that lead down to the Metro and feel a rush of warm air, I think of all the homeless people in the city who sleep on those grates in winter so that they can stay warm. And here I am, in my $200 coat, with a scarf and gloves, on my way to my warm office to drink some hot coffee, and I'm complaining about being cold!? How dare I?!
- I'm thankful that Jeremy and I are healthy - we have our sight, our hearing, all our fingers and toes, and we never have to go to hospitals. How many people can say that? So many people spend their lives in and out of hospitals and doctor's offices. I can't imagine the toll something like that would take on you eventually - physically and emotionally. I pray that we remain healthy for a long time.
- I'm thankful that we always have good, healthy food in our house - we are never without the foods we want, even though we often complain that we don't have anything or that we're so sick of eating the same stuff. On another episode of Extreme Home Makeover, a family received enough frozen chicken to feed them for a year. When they heard this, the father broke down in tears. When you see that a freezer full of boring ol' chicken is enough to reduce a grown man to tears, you realize how good you have it when you can afford to by fresh, exciting foods every day.
- And finally, I'm so, so, so thankful that I grew up surrounded by family and friends who love and support me - there are millions of kids in foster homes, or living on the streets, who don't have a strong foundation to build their lives upon. Every single opportunity that has been afforded me has come about through what was and is provided to me by my wonderful parents and my brother, my grandparents, my extended family, and my friends. Nothing that I have done would have been possible if I didn't have them to look up to, to provide me with endless love and support, kind words and even harsh words when I messed up. They helped me accomplish everything I have and, for that, I think I'm the most thankful person in the world!
(PS - And I give thanks to Kathleen, for sending me these fun Thanskgiving pictures!)
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