requisite thanks-giving post

I'd meant to do one for each year I've been alive, but I think this covers the basics.

*****

I am thankful for my husband.

I am thankful for two happy, healthy children who love exploring.

I am thankful my kids love books.

I am thankful for a home, heat, food, clothes, all of my material needs met.

I am thankful my husband has a steady job doing something he loves.

I am thankful that both my husband and I do work where time is (at least somewhat) flexible, and we can both make it to such things as parent-teacher conferences in the middle of the week.

I am thankful for health insurance, present and past, that has covered so much!

I am thankful there are so many writers out there creating stories, books, and more for me to enjoy.

I am thankful that so many writers, editors, and agents share their expertise.

I am thankful for editors who have given me feedback on stories, whether or not they have bought the stories.

I am thankful for editors who have bought stories from me.

I am thankful for people who want to read my stories.

I am thankful for the Internet and the ease of access to others of like mind that it gives me.

I am thankful for professional mailing lists.

I am thankful for communities of writers on-line, including Forward Motion, NaNoWriMo, and Absolute Write.

I am thankful for the writing friends I have met on-line.

I am thankful for my co-ML in NaNoWriMo, who talked me out of quitting.

I am thankful for the encouraging people in our NaNo region.

I am thankful for social media sites that let me keep in touch with friends and family.

I am thankful for hot chocolate.

I am thankful for chocolate in general, if it comes right down to it.

I am also thankful for tea, which sustains me through most of my days.

I am thankful for those nights (however rare) when I get a full night's sleep.

I am thankful for daffodils in spring.

I am thankful for mornings when the fog wreaths the trees on the hill across the way, and the branches look like fingers stuck with cotton candy.

I am thankful for deer in the backyard (except when the dog insists on chasing them -- and I may not be so thankful when I get a vegetable garden in).

I am thankful for digital cameras.

I am thankful for the wonders of modern electronics, from wireless printers to desktop computers to cellphones to iPods.

I am thankful that I can still talk to my mom.

I am thankful that I have an over-active muse.

I am thankful for the wide variety of colors in the world.

I am thankful for music -- Taizé, taiko drumming, Bach, Beethoven, country, '80s pop, kids' songs, and so much more.

I am thankful for warm sweaters.

I am thankful for the ability to read.

I am thankful for the crafting ability I have -- knitting, crocheting, a bit of sewing, baking.

I am thankful for my life.