Thanks and Giving 2011

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It always has been. I look forward to Thanksgiving each year more than Christmas, Halloween and my own birthday. It celebrates the intangible things in life that really matter: family, friends, happiness, relationships, life lessons and, of course, love.

This time last year, I was unemployed and living with my parents. I had just graduated from college and being jobless felt like the end of the world. Living with my parents was embarrassing. It was difficult to keep my head up; I felt I had little to show for the four years of hard work I’d put into college.

Now, thankfully, I am gainfully employed several times over. I no longer live with my parents. I take secret joy in paying my rent. I have the best roommate in the entire world. I have friends of exceptional caliber. I’m dating (and in love with) the best guy in the world. My family is healthy and happy.

Yes, it’s a little cliché to count your blessings this time of year, but at the same time, it’s part of what we all secretly appreciate about Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the in-touch-with-her-feelings kooky hippie aunt of the holiday season who makes it okay to be as gooey as the marshmallows atop a sweet potato casserole.

Besides, we all know that the marshmallows are the best part anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. 

Please share what you’re thankful for this year with us. Be it people, places, things (big or small) we want to hear what’s warming your heart this Thanksgiving.