also thankful...

for the way my family says Thanksgiving, with the emphasis on the fist syllable: THANKsgiving.

thankful

My dog got hit by a car, bounced about 10 feet off the bumper, and has NO DISCERNIBLE INJURIES. No wonder the damn dog doesn't have any fear of anything: she's indestructible. I am thankful for her continued existence and for her joie de vivre.

I'm at my grandmother's house, lounging, cooking, and prepping for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am so thankful for my family. This holiday will be a bit bittersweet, because we can't help but feel the absence of my granddaddy, but I also am thankful to have the family that is here--and to have had the time with him that I did.

I am thankful to have great friends in my life. I am thankful especially for my dear friends Kurt and Jamie who are getting married Friday after TEN YEARS together, my dear friends Nick and Phil who are letting me stay in their apartment while they're away, and my dear friend Liz without whom I never would have made it to being a real live lawyer, and who is about to be our new roommate.

I am thankful to have my health. It's something I take too much for granted most days. My friend EJ had a heart attack last week at the age of 26. He's doing fine, but that combined with seeing my grandfather just before his death reminds me that I ought to more appreciate every miraculous thing my body can do. Run! Jump! Cook! Type! See! Smell! And good god, eat! I mean, just the blood coursing through my veins and the breath going in and out is pretty spectacular. I am thankful for that.

I am thankful to still have a job waiting for me, making way more money than any reasonable 25 year old makes. A lot has changed at the firm in the last year, and a lot has changed in the economy at large, and I am grateful for what I still have.

Also, (gross out alert) I am so, so thankful for my amazing husband. He's my my partner, my comic relief, my touchstone to sanity, and my best friend. I love you, Thomas. I'm sorry we have to spend this Thanksgiving apart. (As a bonus, the hubs comes with a fabulous in-laws package, for which I am also very thankful.)

I am thankful for so much this holiday. How spectacular is it that we have an entire holiday devoted just to eating and gratitude?

Onward and Upward

First, I want to say thank you to those of you who reached out to me when you heard about my Granddaddy. It means a lot to have such caring friends, and my family and I really appreciate all your well-wishes. Chris, as per usual, has put my feelings in to words better than I ever could, so I'll just direct you to her post.

The hubs and I are moving December 1, and I can't wait to settle into a routine. To have all my clothes accessible to me. To wake up morning after morning and not have to drive somewhere. To cook! With my own pots and pans! To take my ridiculous dog for a walk in the brutal Chicago winter morning. To find a new gym, get a new library card, a new hairdresser. To clean a bathtub. To do all the boring, annoying, fun things that you have to do when you live somewhere.

As Amy said in a comment, this has been a year of really high highs and really low lows. It has been some of the best times of my life, and yet I can't tell you how ready I am for 2009 to be over.

Granddaddy Roy

This afternoon, my Granddaddy Roy died. He was a pretty amazing and hilarious guy. He believed he could fix anything, and cheaper. He'd give you directions and send you the absolute shortest distance possible--even if it meant the drive would take twice as long, just to save you half a mile. He golfed 3 or 4 times a week. He used to tell us scary stories and offer to sell us to our grandmother for a quarter (a real bargain, if you ask me). He was a WWII veteran and a product of the GI Bill. He made burgers I thought were about the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten. We was gruff and sometimes harsh, but he was a good man.

He started going blind 7 years ago due to a blood clot which cut off circulation to his eyes. Losing the ability to drive and get around easily was hard on him, I think, but he was bound and determined to keep every bit of his independence he could. Late last year, he fell and broke his pelvis outside the gym where he was doing his daily stationary biking and never fully recovered. This year, he started losing lucidity.

So, today, my grandfather died. I am so thankful to have known him, and to have had a real relationship with him. I am so thankful to have been able to say goodbye to him yesterday. I loved him very much.



This is him with his wife of 59 years, my Grandma Una. Weren't they a dashing couple? Please be thinking of her this week. I don't exactly know how she does it, but my grandmother is a force of nature and she will need every ounce of strength she can get.