Things I’m Grateful For

Unless you live under a rock in a special under-rock world where Oprah doesn’t exist, I’m guessing you already know that gratitude is good for your health. I try teach Hazy and George to be grateful and to lead by example. So, a day late two days late and most likely more than a few dollars short, here are a few of the many things I’m grateful for (in no particular order). I’m grateful for…

1. Living in a world where nachos exist and it only takes about 2 minutes to make them. (Side note: I’ll never understand you, people who purposefully don’t own a microwave.)
2. The Dip™ (Now remember, although the dip has cheese and salsa and is enjoyed with tortilla chips, it’s not the same as nachos.)
3. That my kids are finally at the age where they can watch movies I enjoy (recent favorites include the Karate Kid and Mrs. Doubtfire), play less-annoying board games (buh-bye, Chutes & Ladders, don’t let the door hit you in the confusing-marked square on the way out), and play independently for a while.
4. The obvious things – my health, my family’s health, my family, our home, our friends.
5. Rosie – who fulfills all my dog needs. Turns out unconditional love, like gratitude, is pretty good for your health too.

   

6. Matty, who doesn’t think parenting and housework are exclusively women’s jobs, and who supports me in so many ways. Also, he has never once told me to consider taking a break from nachos, even though I know he’s thought it.
7. DVR, Netflix, and Hulu
8. Kids I actually like hanging out with* (*exceptions include during the playing of School, during flossing/brushing time, when they’re hangry and/or tired)
9. People who comment on my blog
10. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, especially the bite sized ones
11. The new advances in sweatpants
12. My humidifier/infuser – there’s nothing fancier than lavender-scented mist
13. Wine at nail salons (it’s a thing!)
14. Karaoke
15. IMDB
16. The NY Times crossword
17. Waze (except for that one time I swear it told me to drive into a lake)
18. People who foster dogs
19. Movie theatre popcorn
20. Naps
21. Puzzles
22. Random insta-friends you make during moments of public humiliation
23. Jamaica Plain and all its wonderful hippie randomness 
24. Wegman’s
25. Project1460orless on Instagram
26. People who let me merge, even when I’m in the wrong lane.
27. Having a separate bathroom from Matty (especially after our first apartment together in Brooklyn, where we had one bathroom and it didn’t have a sink)
28. Wine – red, white, rosé, cheap, fancy, ABC (anything but chardonnay)
29. Cheese (except for Swiss – what is the point of you, you bland loser?)
30. Old people, specifically my Nana, but I’m grateful for almost all old people.

    

31. Haagen-Daz mango ice cream (not the sorbet, the ice cream)
32. Flip flops
33. Amazon Prime
34. Chinese grocery stores
35. Waiters/waitresses who tell you the truth about which dishes are bad
36. Goodreads (and good reads)
37. Baths (sorry, Jessi)
38. Family recipes 
39. My body pillow, Buddy. I’ve had him (it) since college, and he’s a better snuggler than any human being I’ve ever known. Sorry/not sorry, Matty.
40. Our friends who dogsit Rosie and who let us dogsit their pup, Damon.

    

41. Friends who live by the beach and don’t mind us staying with them for eight days.

    

    

42. The way my kids look at me, the way they smell, the way they laugh
43. Leggings
44. Ponytail holders
45. Ramen noodles
46. Freelance life
47. Good parking juju
48. TJ Maxx
49. Professional massages
50. Pod Save America

Hope your Thanksgivings were happy and delicious. What are you grateful for?