Thankful.

This Thanksgiving, in no particular order, I am thankful for:

• My friends. Much like last year, I spent Thanksgiving in the company of my friends and their families. And, it was wonderful. I went to the Parade with H, cooked and ate with M and her family, and then M, her mom, and I all headed over to see O and J, where L and S were with their parents. All are such wonderful, interesting, intelligent, different, caring, welcoming people. I feel lucky to have them.


• A delicious dinner. I'm not much of a Thanksgiving food fan but there is something to be said for sitting down with a group of people and just enjoying the food and company.


• My first-ever pie without my mom's supervision turned out. It definitely looked homemade (a tad ugly) and it did require an emergency pie-crust-burning call to my mom but it was pretty tasty, if I do say so my biased self.


• My mom's recovery from neck surgery. It seems like second time was the charm. She is still in pain but that is not surprising considering that she only had surgery a month ago. Putting that aside, she has movement and motivation that she did not have last year. All positive signs.


• My dad's recovery from his emergency gallbladder removal. You'd never know he came within hours of dying this year by seeing him today. Thank goodness for timely, knowledgeable, skilled medical intervention.


• My floors FINALLY being almost fixed. After three weeks and two nights in a hotel, the most recent leak is nothing but a varnish-smelling memory. Soon, I will have new carpet installed and the summer will be clean-slated too.


• My RA being mostly under control, at least enough to try running. I don't think I will ever be "a runner" but I do want to be able to run enough to do a full triathlon and actually get to cross a finish line, rather than my anticlimactic two-thirds races.


• 2011 almost being over. This year has kicked my ass and done a number on my parents. I feel like 2012 is going to be a better year.