So today’s Thanksgiving, and although I haven’t really celebrated it much in the traditional way very many times in my life, I have taken to at least trying to keep up with the spirit of the holiday and making a (mental) list of things for which I’m thankful.  I know I already have one of these lists on here somewhere, but I really think it’s important to frequently remind yourself of what you’re thankful for.  I promise I am not looking at my other list, so these are the things I’ve come up with today.

1. My herd is safe and healthy.
2. My herd has come a long way in the last year (all three were lying down the other day; that speaks volumes for how comfortable they feel here).
3. My camper and I have survived a whole year together and haven’t killed each other.
4. The barn, fencing, and utilities are all still intact.
5. I’ve got some good friends that I enjoy being around (did Thanksgiving with my former roommate and his boyfriend today; I am so full…)
6. My family is alive, safe, and healthy.
7. I get to write some really fun stuff…and even get paid for it occasionally…more on that later.
8. The stars are really pretty tonight, and Orion (my favorite constellation) is big and beautiful.
9. I got the whole pasture dragged in just a couple of hours.
10. I’m safe and healthy.
11. I got the book cover I commissioned for my Shane and Colton paperback today.  I’ve got it uploaded to Amazon, have approved the proof, and am now just waiting on them to review it so I can finally publish it.  I’m so excited!
12. My new book is coming along very well; I’m 40K words in so far, and I know where the rest of it is going (sleep is good, but I’ve been up as late as 3:30 working on it…I’m gonna sleep so much this weekend).
13. I have a job that pays enough that I can enjoy my hobbies while putting money away for the house (4 years and counting…)

So, yeah, I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, and I’m glad to share it.  Hopefully it’ll inspire ideas in my readers for things they can be thankful for.  Just like griping begets griping, being thankful begets being thankful.  We ought to do it every day—it’s so easy to get hung up on the things in life that suck—but I hope that at least one day a year, everybody will sit down and think up things for which they’re thankful.