It's the day before Thanksgiving, and I'm just sitting here feeling like I'm being called to talk about gratitude, as trite as that sounds.
The way things are going in this world, where everything is divisive and/or offensive to some or all, I don’t know how long Thanksgiving has to stick around, so I’m choosing to stick to tradition.
I feel insensitive in saying it, but the truth is that I'm most grateful that I wasn't born in Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, North Korea, or any of the countries that are constantly ravaged by war, famine, hate, disease, and oppressive forces. It truly boggles my mind that women in these countries haven't reached inside themselves and torn their fallopian tubes out with their bare hands so that they never subject a child to the anguish that comes just by being born in a certain latitude and longitude. Something so random and trivial yet so deeply important once you're cognizant of this earthly plane.
I'm grateful that my mother is safe in her home in Costa Rica and not in some tunnel being tortured, starved, and terrorized by violent extremists. I’m grateful she’s not buried beneath rubble with her limbs blown off by a retaliating force. I'm grateful her face on a poster isn't being ripped down by college students in some misguided protest. I'm grateful that my beautiful mom isn't being displaced and bombed. I'm so grateful that the people I love are safe and unharmed by the disgusting devastation of war.
I'm grateful for my health (even though I've had a meandering cold for what feels like a hundred days and no sense of smell or taste for 6 days.) I'm grateful it's not Covid. I’m grateful to have all my senses (normally) as they’re a gift.
I’m grateful I can listen to music. I’m grateful for music as a whole.
I’m grateful I can see a heart-melting sunset.
I’m grateful I can smell fresh laundry and cigars, both triggering different memories that I treasure.
I’m grateful I can feel my boyfriend’s hand on my leg as we watch our shows together.
I'm grateful for the friends I have, old and new, who give me the benefit of the doubt, communicate their needs, and would rather talk things through than walk away with assumptions. Friends I can count on through thick and thin. The friends who make me laugh and the ones that make me think. The friends that feel like that soft, cozy sweater you've had since high school. The ones you'd never give up on or who’d never give up on you, even if we’re all shredded from years of wear. The friends that remain and the ones I’ve yet to meet.
I'm grateful for my body for keeping on, for getting out of bed every day and functioning to the best of its ability despite the harsh words I've spewed at it in front of the mirror for many, many years.
I'm grateful that I have a job, that it is lucrative, and that I am good at it. I’m grateful that I've been able to save money so that I can feel secure and independent. I’m grateful to everyone who has helped me succeed in my career. Guardian angels disguised as colleagues and mentors.
I'm grateful that I have a partner who loves me and cares for me. Who asks me to text him when I get somewhere so he knows I’m safe. A man who also doesn’t like camping. A man who put in all the effort and made all the appointments necessary to get me on his health insurance. A true sign of modern-day romance.
I'm grateful that we have his parent's house to go to for the holidays, as my family lives far away, and I'm a girl who loves a cozy family holiday by the fire. I'm grateful that on Thursday morning, we'll get up and have a cup of coffee and some rye toast, (fingers crossed I get my senses back by then)watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and appreciate old traditions and warm moments.
I'm grateful for true crime podcasts that make the 7-hour drive to my boyfriend's parent's house a breeze.
I'm grateful for my cat. Because even though he can summon the devil inside him at times, he's still the cutest, funniest, smartest, handsomest cuddle-boy there ever was. I’m grateful he chooses me to cuddle with when it’s bedtime.
I'm grateful for my home, which is comfortable, warm, safe, and not haunted. A home that I love being in with the one I love.
I'm grateful for my family, who loves and accepts me for who I am and never demands anything of me, not money or children or marriage or any other status quo.
I'm grateful to live in the city I've loved in my bones my entire life without even knowing why. I'm grateful it has let me get home safely every day.
I’m grateful for little things and big things and things in between. I’m grateful to remember gratitude is important.
I'm grateful you've read this far and continue to inspire me to write.
I'm so grateful you're here.
And me? I'm grateful for you and your goddamned gorgeous beautiful wordy magic. Thank you for always inspiring me and having my back.
Love this so much!! Grateful to be able to read from talented writers like you💕