Thankful for

I am thankful for traditions. I am thankful for the family; the ones you claim as blood or not. I am thankful for memories kept alive through our words and in other ways such as pictures, movies, recipes. I am thankful for things that bind us together.

I am thankful for my mother’s endless positivity and work ethic. I am thankful for all the quirks, her sense of humor, and the subtle things that bring me back to my childhood. Her bright laugh and smile reminds me of when I was the smallest. I can laugh at myself thanks to the way I was raised. Subtle things remind myself of her and for that I am very grateful. I am thankful I grew up to be compassionate like my mumma. I am thankful for all the times she’s showed up for me. Driving me to and from school every day because I didn’t like the bus. Making so much food for my friends and I. Going all out for holidays, birthdays, and celebrations. I am thankful for her being a best friend, I am especially thankful for my life when we go out together and dance the night away. For all the unbiased advice my mother has given me and times she’s helped me and harmed me, I am eternally grateful for.

I am thankful for my father’s laugh and his voice. So very often I am reminded again of them when I hear the rest of his brothers at times. Their mumbles, antics that lead to laughter, and odd inside jokes ..or really things that may be funny to them and no one else. I am most thankful for these things. For all of the annoying things he did that I openly and secretly loved, making fun of the music that we would hear on the radio, his made up songs and sayings about really anything that came to mind. His traditions that he always tried to include me in but went about with whether or not anyone was there or not. I am so thankful for the smell of Sunday mornings, his breakfast concoctions that were always so amazing. I am thankful for the days we would all wake up and have breakfast together, even if they were really rare. I am thankful for the garden he let me help him with. I am thankful for all the times I would come home or look out the window to the backyard and see him doing something. So rarely did he tinker but rather just do, do, do. I am thankful for having a memory of what our home used to look like, seeing its progression, and even now its decline. It makes you appreciate, hate, and thankful for time all at once. For the growth my father has brought me, I am forever grateful for that.

I am thankful for my gram’s liveliness. I am thankful for her age, wisdom, and attitude. She is unapologetically herself, every single second of the day. I am thankful she watched me so much growing up, I feel that I gained so much from that time she spent with me. Painting rocks, playing school, lots of reading, and all the walks we went on and places she took me. I am thankful for the time I lived with her and was able to spend so much time with her, watching tv, doing chores, reading books, playing games, talking about the world. Sometimes, rarely, she is quiet and I am able to see the content calm on her face from a subtle smile. This is one of my favorite moments of my grandma. I am thankful to be able to appreciate her cooking and traditions she has still kept alive over the years.

I am thankful for who my pap is. I never really got to know my grandfather on my mom’s side but my pap raised his family the way I would have envisioned it around the 70s. A hard working man with his high school sweetheart and first love plus lots of babies! I am thankful for being able to listen to stories of his children’s youth and some of the stuff they were able to get away, and the things they didn’t. I am thankful for his honesty and his genuine love for our family. I am thankful he took care of sick grammy for 7 years before she passed. Experiencing his strength and perseverance through the hardest time in his life, for many years was both inspiring and also heart breaking. He just accepted it and did what he had to do. For the good people my grandfather and grandmother created and the families they made, I am forever grateful. I am thankful to not have to choose this family: this is us.

I am thankful for my family’s endless ability to love. There have been years homeless people have come in for a plate, or just distant friends who didn’t have anywhere else to go. I am eternally grateful for being shown in this capacity to truly love your neighbor.

I am thankful for old friends and those traditions but am also so thankful for a new life. I am thankful for hard goodbyes and excited hellos.

I am thankful for love, laughter, and light, good music, and inspiring books. I am thankful for compelling art and simple days. I am thankful for shelter, wonderfully delicious food and where our world has been and the ability to have a future.

I am thankful I have so much to be thankful for. Love the life you’re livin.