In the spirit of thankfulness, THANK YOU for your readership and support! I published my first post, my first intentional contribution to the internet for public consumption, on April 10th, 2020. I’d been toying with the idea of writing a blog for years, but I didn’t know if I had anything to say that would be interesting to anyone else. I’m still not totally sure if I do, but like 20 people consistently read my posts, which is 15 more than I ever expected. 😉

So here’s a list of things I’m thankful for, in no particular order:

My family. The most obvious choice, but it’s not a cliche. I am infinitely thankful for my family, to whom I feel closer during this pandemic even though we see each other less, or not at all, because we hold the things that are most important closer to us in times of struggle and need.

My friends. I am not a great long-distance friend, and unfortunately, most of my oldest friends live far away. I will go for long periods of time without communicating, and then all of the sudden send an overly emotional text or whatever. It’s probably weird for you, friends. I’m sorry. Thanks for sticking with me. I’m thankful for you.

Often taken-for-granted human needs. I’m thankful for our house, the fact that we have shelter. I’m thankful that we don’t go in need of food. Food and shelter are basic human necessities, and yet thousands of people experience homelessness and food insecurity every year, a number that is increasing as the pandemic hits at-risk communities harder. Many of these people work in the service industry, which is obviously the hardest hit by COVID, with restaurants and other person-to-person services closed or limited due to the risk of the spread of disease.

The internet. Yep. I’m thankful for the internet. I’m thankful we have it. I’m thankful we can use it to communicate. I also find it terrifying in all of its connectivity and the anonymity people feel when using it to say horrible things, but no internet means no blogs or Netflix or Disney+ or ANY OF THE THINGS that have allowed me to keep my sanity in the past 8 months. I love you, internet, you weird, cloudy non-place.

Legos. For many of the same reasons that I’m thankful for the internet, I’m thankful for Legos. Moving on.

Democracy. The democratic process was tested during this election and held up. I’m thankful for that.

Exercise in its various forms. I had been running and was basically running myself into the ground, so we were lucky enough to be able to buy an erg (a rowing machine), and I’ve been using that pretty consistently for the past few weeks. My back is starting to hurt in some familiar places, and my old lat strain is starting to rear its ugly head again, and yet, I love it and am thankful I can use my body.

Being a mom. This is not the same as being thankful for my family. I’m thankful for the person being a mom has helped me become. I’m definitely weirder now, but I think this weirdness was always there, and I’m just now less self-conscious and more confident. I’m not ALWAYS confident. Just more so than before.

Writing. I just enjoy it. I’m thankful to have something I enjoy that I can do for myself. I love the sound of my keys hitting the keyboard and love that I can type with my eyes closed without making many mistakes. I like how it feels to have words come out of my mind and onto the page, whether people read them or not. But thanks for reading them sometimes.