Thankfuls - Several

I think one of my New Year's Resolutions will be sticking with something...

Day 14 - My grad school friends, and email friends, Kathleen and Melissa.  We now only see each other 3 or 4 times a year, but stay connected thru email, and I mean really connected.  They know more about me than most folks.  They make my work days go by faster, and it's really neat to have friends in your field, friends who celebrate your accomplishments, and can commiserate on the bad days.  I love them lots, and I'm so thankful we met and that Melissa didn't jump off the boat the first weekend of school :-)

Day 15 - I'm thankful for the "Lunch Bunch".  This is a group of families that have been friends for years.  When I was a kid, we met at a restaurant every Sunday after everyone was out of church, and sometimes were there for hours (now, having been a waitress at one point, I'm sure they loved us), we spent holidays together, even all went to the beach one year together.  It was families of mostly girls, a couple poor boys in there, and we had a great time together.  Today some of the girls are still some of my favorite people to be around, they love me as I am, and they have always been good to me.  I feel so blessed that we grew up together and are still friends.

Day 16 - I'm thankful for my home.  A roof over my head, a place I can relax, a place I can entertain and welcome others.  It makes me happy.

Day 17 - I'm thankful for another friend named Thomas.  We've been friends a long, long time.  He makes me laugh, he makes me mad, multiple times it's been good that neither of us had a knife, but he makes me think and he's a good friend.  Happy Birthday!

Day 18 - I'm thankful for my brother-in-law.  Other than becoming a Christian, I think marriage is the biggest decision you make, and my sister picked well.  He is a good provider, a good Christian man, a good father, puts up with her :-) and puts up with all the rest of her crazy family.

Day 19 - I'm thankful God saw fit to create me, put me here on Earth, and let me live out this life.  Each day is a blessing, even the ones that draw attention to us getting older.... Happy Birthday Me!

Day 20 - I'm thankful for my grandparents.  I'm blessed I still have all 3 grandparents I had when I was born, and they are all still in pretty good health.  I've learned so much from them, how to handle success and tragedy, how to treat people, how to give, how to be faithful... I could go on and on.

Day 21 - I'm thankful for my cousin, Emily.  Although I've recently fallen off the wagon due to an injury, Emily got me on the workout train with our late night workouts, and then somehow convinced me to join a running program, which I fully intended to hate.  Hate it I did the first few times, and then it became and addiction, and fun addition which included not only getting healthier, but also fun breakfasts with my running friends.  Emily has motivated me to do things I thought impossible.  And God willing, we will run a half marathon together next year!

Are you still reading???  If so, you must be related to me :-)