Things To Be Thankful For

1. Family - Even though my dad didn't come through with a visit while Paul and I were in California (story to come - still mad and hurt) I can't tell you how great my family is. We have never been a super tight-knit family, even less now that my grandparents have passed and a number of us have moved out of California but man they will be there for you if you need them. I really feel sometimes as though I don't deserve them. Today I found out my youngest cousin is shipping out Sunday to serve in Iraq for a year. I will pray every day that he returns unharmed. He is such an amazing guy and only 18. Okay, next - I'm tearing up here.

2. Friends - I have said this many times and I hope I will continue to say it: my friends are the greatest group of people you will ever be lucky enough to meet. Case in point: I had gotten to the point where I was okay with being alone on Thanksgiving. Paul was with his family, I was originally supposed to go to Cairo with friends but didn't and the friends who weren't in Cairo all went home. Except for Agie, who upon hearing I was planning on roasting a chicken and making a Thanksgiving dinner for one (wow that sounds so sad and pathetic now) decided to drag me along with her and her husband to his coworker's house for dinner. It turned out to be a really nice time. The boys did all the cooking. Three, count them, three turkeys were made. One baked, one fried and one smoked and they were all delicious. And thankfully spaced out over the evening due to *ahem* "fortuitous" planning and various cooking times. All in all a very good meal.

3. Paul - Go ahead and get the schmaltzy "ahhh" out of the way. We good? Allright. I had a lot of time to let my mind wander this past week and one of the things I did was reread some of my old posts and im conversations Paul and I had when we first started dating. It reminded me of how much fun I have with him and how easy and comfortable it is to be with him. I will be the first to say it hasn't been all flowers and sunshine but no real relationship ever is. I would be bored silly in a week if that were the case. I digress. My point here is that I realized (not for the first time and I'm sure not for the last) that for all the times the man drives me absolutely batty, his good qualities far outweigh the bad and honestly some of those things that make me crazy are the very things that make me like him. I know, I know. It makes my head hurt too.