Thanksgiving

Well, this week marks the start of the holiday season, and the traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving. I am a big fan of Thanksgiving and I'll tell you why - it is the ONLY holiday that there are no gifts! Now, don't get me wrong, I like Christmas and I am not one to turn down a gift, but as an adult, I have come to be jaded by obligational gift-giving... I suppose I don't understand the concept that we have fully celebrated a holiday if I buy you a gift card and you buy me a gift card - why didn't we each just keep our twenty bucks!?

Anyway, my aversion to over-commercialized Hallmark Holidays is a topic for another day... Thanksgiving is my favorite because it's a great excuse to get a family together, with nothing more than a simple meal and togetherness. I also love that there are no expectations. And the thanking - I am a big fan of the Thanking!

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, and in the true spirit of being thankful for all of the blessings in the past year, I have compiled a short list of things I am thankful for - Thanks for reading.

- Thanks for the great family I have. I might not see them as much as I should or always appreciate them, but at the heart of my existence are two parents who raised me right and have always supported me, and an extended family that is super strong and full of love.
- Thanks to my husband, who is the only person who can drive me to the brink of insanity and still be the only person I want to be around! Thanks to him for being strong, putting up with my crazy schemes, and for always being calm when I am not.
- Thanks to Lisa, who has welcomed Sky and I into her barn and her life, being a good friend and letting me tag along with her to every show I could muster this year. Thanks to her for not thinking less of me when I was scared to get Sky off the trailer in the middle of a rainstorm, for instantly offering to let me live with her and Josh upon learning Karl was to go to Iraq, and for always being a phone call/text/email/ away.
- Thanks to John, who spent the majority of this year giving me free advice rather than lessons, which I couldn't always afford. John has been the Yoda of Sky and I this year - without him our progression certainly wouldn't have been so smooth.
- Thanks for Sadie, who although she is just a dog, is the most loyal person I know. Thanks for all the kisses, Sadie, and all the cuddling in a chair that shouldn't fit two of us, and for sleeping with me when Karl is gone, and for the wags... I so love the wags.
- Thanks, to SHA - Sanborn, Head & Associates gave me a job when I was not sure what was going to happen next, and now that I've been there almost ten months, thanks for being there to anchor me down when not much else was making sense. It's not always the most fun place to be, but it's constent and that's good sometimes.
- Thanks for Sky - I have said a lot on this blog about how important Sky is to me, and I could go on and on again but I'll just say this... she makes a great Kleenex when I need to cry - all things about her presense make me feel better by the time I leave her stall.
- Thanks for the roof over my head, and the food in my lunchbox, and the shower I took yesterday. Thanks for the second car (finally!) and for gas being under two dollars, thanks for things that I take for granted everyday.
- Thanks to Christina, who is my kindred spirit and my margarita buddy.
- Thanks for Beth (and Marcia) and for another great year at East Corinth... Thanks for another great year of trails.
- Thanks for Betsy, and Harvey, for leading us out on such great rides this year - and for allowing us a spot in the trailer!
- Thanks for everywhere I have been and everywhere I am going... thanks for the bad days that led to better ones and thanks for the messes that led to successes... I am so thankful that I have so much - but most of all I am thankful for the opportunity that lays ahead of me. I have the power in my life to make tomorrow better than today - there is SO MUCH ahead in life for me and that is what I am most thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to all - I hope you take time to remember what you are thankful for - don't give gifts, don't send cards, don't make Thanksgiving something it's not - eat Turkey, laugh with your family, and be thankful... that's all Thanksgiving wants.

:)