Grateful

We had a really good thanksgiving this year, with the three of us. We decided to forgo traveling up north, and to spend thanksgiving with our little family. Graduate school has been so busy for me, and we have rarely been able to spend quality time as a family the last few weeks. So, when we had an entire day to spend together as a family, we enjoyed it to the max. We cooked a full out thanksgiving dinner, you know...turkey, ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, rice, and homemade apple pie. Our food was yummy, and we got full so fast. But thanksgiving is so much more than a great homemade meal and physical time with family. Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks, as the word, backwards, implies.

While we had dinner, David and I shared some things that we are grateful for. Among having each other and Gabriel, we also had other common gratitudes. David said he was thankful for our house, his job, his christmas bonus (that will be used to pay bills). I said I was thankful for our house, being able to afford food for us, good food actually (we sacrifice spending $ in other things to instead invest in organic meats/food, and lots of veggies and fruits), two working cars, graduate school and the new friends I've made there, and being able to be happy and healthy.

To expand, we are so grateful for our house and the home we are building for Gabriel. Our first house, what is meant to be a starter house, is big enough to be an end house for lots of people. We are so fortunate that we are able to live in a big enough home that more than comfortably meets our needs. Many people in the world never get to have the luxury that I already have in my 20's. But really, that is a monetary blessing, one that i'm grateful for, but what I'm even more grateful for is the home I am able to make out of our house. Our home is a place for love, respect and peace. We hope that as Gabriel grows older, he will be able to carry those values into the lives of others. We are not perfect people, but we are striving to be providers of the best home a child could have.

I am grateful that David has a job that helps us pay for our living expenses, (as well as my grad school loans) and for the good food we are able to consume. Again, many people in the U.S. and around the World, are not that lucky. Nearly 17 million families in the United States, about 15 percent of all households, had trouble putting enough food on the table last year. The stats in other countries are more stark.

I'm grateful for having cars that work, not just one, but two. I'm grateful for all of my family and friends, for the love I know they have for us. I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to obtain a higher education. The kind of higher education, that is needed in todays society. I'm grateful that one of my talents is to have the ability to help other people in need and be a voice for them.

I am so grateful for all that I have. This life is full of trials and tribulations that make our life hard at times, but in the end, it always makes it richer. I'm so grateful for how great my life is, and the journey that the three of us are on.

"Of all the things that exist, we breathe and wake and turn it into song."

-Buddhist precept