10 Thankful Things

Cliff started it, but his are short and on facebook. I figured I'd give mine a little more explanation.

10. The phone. My mom and I had a very long conversation on Saturday night, after I got home. It was round 1:30, husband was asleep, and the house was very quiet. We talked about everything, nothing, and all the things in between. As always, we got to some fairly important "lightbulb" moments in the middle of the meanderings, and recognised how nice it is to have someone with which to speak about the things that "matter".

9. The smell of onions sizzling in fat. Few things get my tummy rumbling like sauteeing onions.

8. Heating. Seriously. I don't know how people get through the winter without decent heaters, but I would be far and away unable to sleep were it not for a good, powerful heater to get the room comfortable.

7. That the gas stove and oven warm up the home, and give me a good excuse to use them on cold days. I'll throw on a big pot of soup, some crusty bread into the oven, and cook off a few veggies to go on the side. The house smells fantastic, the warmth creeps over to your insides, and finally you feel that blissful sense of perfect comfort.

6. Noise cancelling headphones. Best $20 I ever spent.

5. Harry Potter, and friends who "get it". I can throw out an obscure reference via text message, and Boss Man shoots back with his own favourite. Since he hasn't had time to catch up on the books yet, I mainly stick to the films, but there's a LOT of stuff to go on as it is.

4. Internet forums. Yes, sometimes they're filled with people who annoy you, but a lot of times, they provide that desperately-needed sense of community that isn't so easy to find when you live in an anonymous world.

3. Jackets with thick lining. It's cold out there!

2. Patience, both from the people who care about me, and to the people I care about. We don't always move forward at the pace we'd like to. Heck, there's days when I wonder if I'll ever get to that end goal. Then I stop and step back, and think "But the journey is part of the process too, and I've got to keep on keeping on." Equally well, my loved ones have been incredibly patient with my shortcomings (many though they be).

"Listen, Dino. I know you make mistakes. But at least you learn from them, instead of repeating the same ones over and over again. You're not perfect, but neither am I. We just have to keep striving for it. We'll get there some day!"

1. Of course, above all, I'm thankful for the people I interact with on a regular basis. Regardless of what the interaction, I learn something. It's the whole point of living, isn't it?