Give Thanks

This morning, I came downstairs with my 11 month old son, stuck him in his high chair with his breakfast, and I turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first thing he saw was a big Christmas ornament and he squealed, clapped his hands, bounced up and down, looked and me like we shared a special secret, and said "BALL!!!" And I was immediately teary-eyed, because getting up and watching the parade is one of my favorite memories of my childhood, and it looks like he'll be the same way. And also because I seem to be somewhat hormonal these last few days....yesterday I cried during one of those "What's Your Grand Casino Story?" commercials. Although, can you blame me? Betty won! She WON! Anyway, so I just said "Look! Snoopy's coming!!" and he looked at the screen and smiled with his whole face...the smile where his eyes scrunch into little slits and his nose scrunches up and I can see all 8 of his teeth. I love the parade. I love that my son apparently does too.

I thought it would be fitting to make a list of other things I'm thankful for.

MY PARENTS - I somehow ended up with the best parents in the whole world. They are smart, wise, funny, easygoing, and fun. They are among my closest friends, and I love hanging out with them. They have blessed me with so many wonderful memories of the best childhood ever, and I can only hope to be half as good of a parent as they both were.

MY BROTHER, SIL, AND NIECES - I have three nieces, aged 2, 5, and 6. They absolutely delight me. They call me "Noonie"..when the oldest was around 6 months old, I started making this funny noise that made her laugh every time. The noise was, you guessed it, "Noonie noonie noooooo"...well, after a time, she just started associating "noonie" with me, and that's what she called me. It stuck. The oldest likes planes and cars and racing, the middle one is all about princesses and ponies and castles, and the youngest is an Elmo fanatic. All three of them are stunningly beautiful and so smart. My younger brother is my only sibling and he's pretty awesome. He is a soldier...a new soldier...he just graduated basic training and job training this past summer. His new Army career meant the whole family had to move to Atlanta. It totally sucks a million ways not to have them around anymore, but they are really happy there and for that I am thankful. And thanks to instant messaging and email, we chat every day. My sister in law is an incredibly talented photographer. Her newborn portraits are unlike anything I've ever seen. She's always there when I have questions about raising kids, and also to have serious discussions about the most recent episode of "Teen Mom" or "16 and Pregnant."

MY BOYFRIEND - this last year has been a little tough on us, dealing with being parents for the first time..but I know we'll be fine. He's pretty great. I've known him for 16 years, we've been together for about 5. Once he hid a pair of peridot (my birthstone) earrings for me to find in the Christmas tree. Speaking of Christmas trees, every year he hauls us out to a chop-your-own-tree lot, chops down the tree of my choice, and hauls it home. I'm sure he'd rather buy a fake one and be done with it. But he knows how much I love it, so he enthusiatically participates. He's a wonderful father, he's hilarious, he's smart, and we have so much fun together.

MY JOB - I mean, let's face it, not everyone has one. Since I've been back from maternity leave in March, I've been able to work from home for most of my work-week. I only go to the office once a week, on Mondays. This has afforded me countless flexibilities...I can transport my son to and from his various daycare houses (more on that in a minute) more easily, I can get errands around my town done on my lunch break, I find I have more productivity at home, I don't ever have to get dressed.....the benefits go on and on. Speaking of benefits, I'm thankful for those too. My son and I get pretty good health insurance through my job.

THE PEOPLE THAT WATCH MY SON - as far as daycare goes, we lucked out bigtime. We both work full time. I work four ten hour days, so I have every Friday off. Mondays, my son goes to my best friend's (Wife) mom's house. She watches him for free and I could not be more appreciative. Tuesdays and Thursdays are alternated by my parents and my boyfriend's parents. And on Wednesdays, he goes to my awesome cousin Kari's house, which is great because she has two kids of her own and it's cool that my son gets to hang out with his second cousins once a week. This daycare situation may not last forever, but I sure am thankful that we have it now.

REALITY TV - Was there really life before reality TV? What on earth did we watch? The news?? I just can't imagine. How were we entertained, before people were fired from Donald Trump's fake company, asked to take off their Hell's Kitchen jacket, not given a rose, asked to leave the island....reality TV brings rejection to a whole new level and I love it. What would we do without Speidi, or Tila Tequila, or heaven forbid, the cast of Jersey Shore? Was there really a time when I didn't know what the Kardashian sisters were doing on a daily basis? Was there really a time when I didn't even know who the Kardashian sisters WERE?? Unbelievable.

MINNESOTA WEATHER - I love the four seasons. I love having a hot summer, a mild spring, a beautiful autumn, and a cold snowy winter. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

THE FACT THAT COSMETIC SURGERY EXISTS - Someday, some wonderful day, I will fix these boobs that pregnancy absolutely destroyed. And life will be good.

CASINOS - Some people spend their money on shoes, or travel, or they put in in a savings account. (I know, weird.) I take mine to the casino. Judge all you want, Judgey McJudgerface, but that's what relaxes me. There is nothing like sitting in front of a 2 cent slot machine, inserting a fresh crisp 20 dollar bill, and methodically hitting the "spin again" button, letting your mind wander while you await a bonus screen.

MODERN MEDICAL MEDICINE - without it, my dad would be dead. Hell, a lot of people I know would be dead. It is absolutely amazing what they can do these days to keep cancer at bay, keep a damaged heart pumping, lower blood pressure levels, stop internal bleeding, the list goes on and on. I just read the other day that it's possible the first person to live to 150 has already been born. CRAZY.

MY FRIENDS - I don't have tons and tons of friends. I have a handful. Those friends, though, were carefully chosen. And they will always be my friends. My friends are all different from each other, to the point where none of my friends are really friends with my other friends. That's OK, though. Special shout out to my friend D....I met her on the internet almost 7 years ago...we've never once met in real life, yet we talk every single day and know everything about each other. Thank you, internet!

MY WIFE - She gets her own category, since she's more than a friend. She's my other half. We always know what the other is thinking. When my water broke at 3:30am, I texted her immediately.Turns out she was already up, with a feeling that something was going on. When she was wheeled into her emergency C-section at 1:45am, I woke up with a feeling, and texted her to make sure everything was OK.

BUFFETS - I can eat all I want? I can come back and get more? Yes, please.

I hope all of you have a happy, safe, blessed Thanksgiving. Taking words of wisdom from my dad....don't take it for granted,. Talk to your parents if you still have them. Hang out with the kids. Take pictures. Share stories. Eat lots of turkey. Take a nap.