This was originally posted on the site I do my blogging regularly - called Adoptivefamiles.com and when I saw that people were doing it here, it made me want to participate as well. This one is not geared as much towards adoption or infertility so I thought it was worthwhile to share with this community - hope you enjoy!


In honor of Thanksgiving, some of my Facebook friends have been playing the 'Facebook Status Thankful Game,' where we post a status to reflect what we are thankful for. Many people do this on Thanksgiving, to celebrate the holiday in which we give thanks. I would like to do this more than once a year, so here is what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my parents. As the baby of the family with two older brothers, I bonded extremely well with my parents and am extremely happy to consider them among the best of my friends. They always put us before themselves with everything they do and think. Before being able to be thankful for anything else in my life, I’m thankful they gave me mine!

I am thankful for my husband. I married my best friend, and I never take that for granted. I know women who are divorced or widowed at my age, and though they have children and I don't, I am far happier being with him than I would be as a single mother. I cherish him on a daily basis, enjoy the time we spend together and even the very tough times we have been through together, only serve to remind me how special our bond is.

I am thankful for my friends. Over the years, I've met women and men who have stood out in my life, and who are some of the greatest people I know. As I consider my husband and parents among them, they are included in this description. My friends are some of the funniest, smartest, most creative and caring individuals I could ever meet. They have a unique ability to add their perspective to our discussions that keep me thinking long after we are together. A few of them also throw terrific parties!

I am thankful for opportunities. That said, I've been unemployed since February of this year, for most of the year. I was laid off from a position I held for five years, had a four week position that also laid me off and then had a temporary position that ended. This year has given me a chance to do more volunteer work for Resolve (National Infertility Association), begin blogging, and to be there for my best friend when her husband passed away. If I was working, I would not have had some of those opportunities. I am still searching for new career opportunities feverishly!

I am thankful for adoption. I say this even though our first two matches didn't finalize, as the mothers decided to parent those babies after they were born. I really mean it, too -- even though I held and fed that second baby. Now that enough time has passed after those failed adoptions, I have enough perspective to know that our baby hasn’t found us yet. Sounds corny, but I do believe it.

I am thankful for my health. I am strong and healthy despite some skin issues, occasional migraines and the risks of cervical cancer and that pesky T shaped uterus, both of those last two items due in large part to the DES my mother took while trying to ensure her pregnancy with me didn't end in miscarriage. Those details seem small in comparison with the fact that I wake up every day able to breathe deeply, see clearly, hear well and take walks and work out whenever I choose.

Last but not least, I am thankful for today. As the saying goes, yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, but today is a gift. That's why we call the present – live like you are thankful for this present. I know I do.