Five on Friday - Thanksgiving

This week I have decided to combine my Five on Friday with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what we are thankful for and for some reason, possible the same reason most people are more loving and joyous in December, we don't think about these things throughout the year. Why is that?

Did someone write it in stone that we are only allowed to be thankful during the month of November? Is it written that we can only be loving and joyous during the month of December?

Well, I guess that is for another day and another post.

In no particular order, here are 5 things I am thankful for ...

Family - Can't live with them and can't live without them. That seems to be the summation of most families and my family is no different. Family gives support and picks us up when we are down. Family gives us a reason to celebrate and a reason to rush home to the comforts and confines of our own home. Family has stories to tell that have passed down from generation to generation. Family is home.

Work - I don't know how many people can honestly say that they 100% love their job, but I do know that most of us (including myself) are simply thankful to have a job. I happen to be lucky, as least I think so, because I have a job that I love. I get to write. This job is not my full-time job, but just having the opportunity to work with a wonderful team of writers at OC Moms is a blessing.

Nature - Now this may seem strange, but I truly am thankful for the beautiful world we live in. I can drive less than 10 minutes and sit for hours watching the waves crash against the shore. Contemplating life and the mysteries of the vast oceans. I can travel to places where there is not a single sound of traffic. Where nothing can be heard but the birds chirping, the squirrels collecting acorns, and the deer eating corn that has been thrown out for them. Nature is the best way to connect with what is important in my life.

Health - I have been lucky and thank God every day that my family is happy and healthy. Sure we get the occasional cold like everyone else, but it goes away in a few days with rest and sometimes medicine. I have no serious health conditions that would make a simple cold a matter of life and death. I have no allergies that require me to carry an epi-pen, and I have the ability to get medicine when I need it. This is something that so many people take for granted and we need to be thankful that we have healthy families ... and give aid to those that are not as fortunate.

Dylan - Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, and Dylan McKay (yes, from 90210) ... without these men, I would not have a son named Dylan. The best thing that God has ever given me - and although I have listed this last - the one thing in my life that I most thankful for. My son gives me joy and hope. He makes me laugh and he makes me cry. He is so much like me and in some ways, he is everything that I always wanted to be.