is that wine in your empty belly, or are you just happy it's christmas?

I feel like I never got on board with sharing my I'm so thankful!!!!!!  post in November, and here I am sitting all by my lonesome next to twinkling Christmas lights that sparkle above a pile of carefully wrapped gifts, with the Notorious B.I.G. crooning in my ear and a glass of wine at my fingertips, and suddenly I am overcome with things to be thankful for.  It is silly, really, to make a public list of all the ways I am so lucky, but, if you can't say it at Christmas, when can you, eh?  (<--bonus points if you can name that movie!)

This Christmas, and always, I am so grateful for:

* a loving husband who respects my personhood and womanhood and motherhood equally

* a healthy, thriving child who surprises me every day with her personality, hilarity, and tenderness

* parents and a sibling who love me unconditionally and reserve judgment in almost any situation

* money enough to (almost) pay the bills and (almost) enough left over to have a little fun

* white wine, cheese, olive oil, and all carbohydrates

* an ocean that is mere blocks away and reminds me of the power and vastness of the world beyond human control

* a small space on the internet in which I get to write whatever the hank I want, and through which I have found a community of women that make me feel less alone in this world

* non-internet friends who have grown with me and inspire me to be myself and stretch beyond what is comfortable

* Santa, and Christmas lights, and a furnace that turns on when we crank up the thermostat, and the smell of pine needles, and decorated storefronts

And so, so much more.  Merry merry!