Things I am thankful for

My friend over at Honey Living wrote a really lovely entry about things she is thankful for this year that inspired this post. I know that it's not really in line with this blog and it's kind of cheesy but I thought I'd give it a go, because I'm lucky and I have a good life and much to be thankful for and sometimes it's a good idea to put pen to paper to appreciate just how full your life is. It's long and there are no pretty pictures, so feel free to skip over it. I won't be hurt.

I am thankful for love. I am thankful that I give and get love in equal measure from so many people, in so many walks of life. I am thankful for my friends and my family and especially for my friends that are my chosen family.

I am thankful for Karen who has loved me for half my life. Who calls me out on my shit, who will watch the most ridiculous movie with me and promise not to tell anyone else about it, who doesn't bat an eyelid when I call her multiple times a day and who is the last person I speak to every night before I go to sleep.

I am thankful for my Barnard girls who have remained my touchstone for the past 12 years and have shaped my outlook on life. Jamie who can make me laugh harder than anyone and who I can tell anything to without fear of judgment. Mirka who can listen and process better than anyone I know. Dobs and her infectious exuberance for life...and nudity.

I am thankful for the friends I have known my entire life, some since we were in the womb. I am thankful for friends who share a common history and language, who need no explanation of how terrible I was at age 12 because they went through the experience with me. I am thankful that Josh and Joie live so close to me and are once again able to be a part of my day to day life. I am thankful to their parents for always treating me as a daughter, for the knowledge that I will always have a place to spend a holiday and for loving me through the years when I didn’t always deserve it.

I am thankful for friends that I have met over the past few years that have become part of my extended family. I am thankful that I can still meet someone like “the other Karen” and Joanna and make an instant connection. I am thankful for the knowledge that loving your friends doesn’t end when you leave college.

I am thankful for technology that allows me to keep in touch with my friends throughout the globe. Email, gchat, video chat, digital pictures and facebook allow me to know what is happening today in London and Jerusalem and Sydney, and for that I am grateful. I am thankful for cheap airfare and my passport and having a place to stay in so many cities throughout the world.

I am thankful for my President and First Lady and their two beautiful children who never cease to put a smile on my face every time I see a photo of them. Who help restore my faith in not just my country, but the people who inhabit it and elected him. I am thankful that “one of us” is in the White House.

I am thankful for my job that allows me to engage in work that I love and am passionate about. Work that allows me use my brain and think and be creative, all while attempting to make the world a slightly better place. I am thankful that I work with Nicole and that our strengths and weaknesses balance one another out, making us more effective at our job. I am thankful beyond words for the amazing and talented people I work with who have become my family over the years. I am grateful that the ACLU exists and defends people that others won't.

When so many people are suffering it is impossible not to be thankful for the things one often takes for granted. I am thankful for having a paycheck, health insurance and a warm roof over my head. I am thankful for the ability to comfortably pay all my bills, spend some on fun and fashion and travel and still save a little money at the end of the month. I am grateful that I am not in debt.

So this isn't completely unrelated to fashion, I am grateful for dresses and cardigans, boots and hair bows, leggings and tights, cashmere hoodies and crazy belt buckles, shoes and glasses and bags that sparkle, and living a life that allows me to express my creativity through clothing.

I am thankful for fatshion. That more retailers are making more and better and cuter clothes in a larger variety of sizes. I am thankful for fatshionista and the fat-o-sphere and for everyone fighting for size acceptance.

I am thankful and grateful that I love my body just as it is. I am thankful for my good health and mobility.

I am thankful to live in Brooklyn. That I have a community and not merely a neighborhood that envelops me every time I step out of my house. That I have friends who live nearby that I can gather in a moments notice and for locally owned businesses that let me pay with an IOU if I've forgotten my wallet. I am thankful that I do not need a car to live here.

I am thankful for my huge kitchen where I can cook and bake to my hearts delight for myself and others. I am thankful for my CSA and the two farmers markets in walking distance of my house, and the one near my office that gives me easy access to farm fresh food. I am thankful for the foodie scene in Brooklyn.

I am thankful for Prospect Park. I am thankful that it is right outside of my front door and I can go three times a day if I chose to. I am thankful that it brings me peace and comfort no matter my mood. I am thankful for the beauty that I discover there in every season, in all corners of the park.

I am thankful for Top Chef, Friday Night Lights, True Blood, How I Met Your Mother, Gilmore Girls and the West Wing because sometimes I want to escape from my life. I am thankful for the Sunday Times, US Weekly and Real Simple. I am thankful for all the terrible and trashy vampire books and movies and tv shows I have allowed myself to become obsessed with this year. I am thankful for the hundreds of books that line my shelves just waiting to transport me to another world at a moments notice.

I am grateful for the beautiful and healthy babies that are being born this year and that finally some will be born right here in NY. I am thankful that all these babies are loved and wanted and well cared for. I am thankful that I will have a hand in raising them, but that I will not be the primary person responsible for their upbringing. I am thankful that I am child free. I am thankful that I live in a country where abortion is legal and that I have access to contraception.

I am thankful for my family. For my father who is silly and likes to leave me the most ridiculous voicemails in the world. To my mother for loving us all so much, even when we're not as patient with her as we should be. For my sister who shares the same inner core as I do, whose friendship I value greatly, even though if she were not my sister we would never be friends. For my brother and his dedication to doing what is good and right and just. I am thankful for Sammy, Odelia and Liam for the hugs, kisses, laughs, tickles and drawings I hang on the wall, but most of all for constantly reminding me of the wonderment of childhood. I am thankful that their parents love and value them so much. I am thankful that Jodie will soon...ish be officially joining our family and will not be in Israel forever.

Thank you to everyone and everything that has given me something to be thankful for this year. I love you. I'd love to hear what you're thankful for.