Thankful.

Ok, so my last post was full of snark, but seriously, it’s (in the U.S.) Thanksgiving, and so I’ll be serious for a moment before I go make the two of us a Thanksgiving dinner (not turkey this year – too pregnant to bother – but something tasty anyway…).

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, and so here’s my partial list, in no particular order:

1. Christian. I never would have guessed when we met that one person could bring so much love, humor, honesty, kindness, warmth and understanding into my life. He’s a fantastic husband, a wonderful partner, a great (and evil!) friend, and he’s going to be a brilliant father. He has been unfailingly supportive and loving, which, with everything that has happened this year, has been a godsend. Plus he has amazing power to withstand pregnancy mood swings! I’m not sure why the universe granted me such a wonderful gift, but I am very, very grateful.
2. My wonderful friends, near and far, real-life and virtual. I would not have made it through this pregnancy without you all, and I am really, truly blessed to have such love, caring and humor in my life. I only hope I can return the favor
3. Small Monster. As I said, the list is in no particular order, and all I can say is that I am awed that we get to be your parents, and I cannot wait to meet you.
4. Three people who I’ve never had the opportunity to thank, and who may not understand what it is for: Elmer Jacobson, Louis Gelina and, above all, the late Marlin Pendleton. I should have thanked you long ago, but only in this year of turmoil have I been put in a position to realize how much I owe you. None of you would understand how the validation you gave me so many years ago impacted who I am (and am not) in my mid-30′s, but I owe you all a huge debt of gratitude for listening, caring, and believing in me when those who were supposed to did not. Only now am I realizing how easy it would have been to succumb to that despair and anger, to fall into the vicious circle your intervention interrupted, and I owe you gratitude for a not insignificant part of the adult happiness in my life. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart, even if some of you will never have the opportunity to see this. And to Mr. P, you are missed.
5. My parents-in-law. No, they would not expect to see this, but I know they will be good, stable, caring grandparents to our child, and whatever our differences, significant though they are, my son will be lucky to have them in his life, regardless of distance or my feelings about our relationship or anything else. They raised two wonderful children, and I know they will be good to our Small Monster.
6. The rest of my husband’s family, who are simply awesome people, and for whom I am inexpressibly grateful!
7. A warm house, a nice city to live in, food on the table, love, and lots and lots of snuggling. Life is good.
8. A healthy pregnancy – given my age and size, I could have expected so much worse, and am blessed to have had such an easy time of it so far. I can only hope labor goes as well!
9. A sense of humor – because, let’s face it, without one, I would have gone nuts by now!
10. Ok, I can’t leave it at 9. So I’ll make a 10th to make it all round and pretty. Chocolate. One should always be thankful for chocolate

There are certainly half-a-billion other things I should be thankful for, but those are the biggies that come to mind in my pre-cooking procrastination.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, all!