Tuesday, November 27, 2012

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I am fully aware that it has been nearly two months since my last post, and I am equally aware that a lot has happened between then and now that could have warranted any number of possible writing prompts.  But, nonetheless, I have neglected my personal goal of committing to writing more and for that I apologize.

One thing that has inspired me a bit has been the recent Facebook trend of posting status updates each day about things people are thankful for.  For the last month, my Newsfeed has been chock full of them from dozens of my Facebook friends.  Granted, some were a bit sappy and over the top.  Some were obvious things to be thankful for ("I'm thankful for oxygen, water, and food so I can survive").  And others were so perfect and eloquently written that it really made you sit back for a second and contemplate everything that is important to you in life.

I didn't get into all that, though.  I'm eternally thankful for so many things that assigning a Facebook status to any of them (regardless of the depth) seemed trivial to me.  That's not a shot at anyone that did that...To each his own.  But, it's just not really my style I guess.  I hope I do a good enough job of expressing my thanks for the things I love that I don't have to resort to public declarations that 99.9% of the people reading them couldn't care less about.

I know I may be a few days late, and most people have fully transitioned into Christmas mode.  But if there's one thing the Peanuts gang taught me, it is we should be thankful all year long, not just on Thanksgiving.  So, with that sentiment in mind, I want to express my thanks for the little things in life...The ones that often get taken for granted, and never really get mentioned around a table on Thanksgiving.

In no particular order:

1. I am thankful for college basketball games on TV.  After Christmas, winter drags on and the cold, dreary weather can wear on a person.  Basketball seems to make January and February more bearable.

2. I am thankful for exact change.  I don't carry cash nearly as often as I should, and on those rare occasions when I not only have bills, but coins too and can pay the exact amount owed, it just makes me smile.

3. I am thankful for unexpected days off.  Whether it is a snow day so there's no school, or just a time where some dreaded obligation gets cancelled, it's a great feeling.

4. I'm thankful for photographs.  I often make fun of my mom for taking 5 or 6 pictures of the same exact thing, or for having the video camera out for mundane things like opening a birthday card, but I have to admit I'm really glad I have those memories to look back on.  I don't take enough pictures (unless I'm at an Avett Brothers concert), so I'm glad someone else does. (Note: Pictures of homemade desserts, plants, and bottles of wine do not count, Liza).

5. I'm thankful for sunburns.  Now, I don't mean those severe ones that make even the most mundane movements feel like pure misery.  But that first slight sting of summer (how's that for alliteration?) you feel after spending that first warm afternoon in the sun is glorious.

6. I'm thankful for Kentucky bourbon.

7. I'm thankful for the smell after someone mows.  I can't really describe what it smells like, but you know what I'm talking about.  And the smell of outside early in the morning in the spring.  That one too.

8. I am thankful for Boston and AC/DC.  There are other musical acts that I might like more, but I simply cannot listen to "Something About You" or "If You Want Blood, You Got It" without immediately being in a good mood.  Seriously...Try it.

9. I am thankful for the cool side of the pillow.  When are they going to invent a pillow that stays that temperature all the time?

10. I am thankful I don't look like Cody Zeller.

Hardly an exhaustive list, but I encourage you to take the time to really think about the things you are thankful for.  Sometimes we don't realize how much we truly take for granted.