God seems to know what He’s doing. Aside from that whole ‘creating the universe’ thing, He has an amazing sense of order. Rather than letting me out into the world first to figure things out, He gave me an older sister and let her do it instead. By the time I had made my grand entrance, Amy had already mastered things like walking and talking [well, she wasn't exactly performing soliloquies, but she had gotten down the important stuff like 'who's that?' and 'where's the ball?']. My mom said that when my sister wasn’t taking in the world with her big hazel eyes, she was asking questions, expressing empathy, telling people ‘I love you’ and thanking my mom for everything she did (including painting the garage).

Me? Well, at the same age my sister was expressing gratitude, let’s just say I was developing my leadership style.  I’d stand with tiny balled fists on my hips, barking orders at my mother.

“SIT DOWN!”

“TAKE OFF YOUR COAT!”

And, where my sister offered hugs and snuggles, my mom said that I was “really a card” and “a bit of a tease” because I’d pucker up, blow kisses until someone came close enough to give me one and, just as they were about to, I’d run away laughing hysterically. 26 years later, not much has changed.

God also blessed Amy with unending patience. She sat for hours in my mom’s lap learning colors and shapes. Then, when I came along, she wanted a student of her own. Before I could talk, her job was easy. She’d stand in front of my baby seat and recount everything that Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers had taught her that morning. But, seven months or so after the whole ‘being born’ thing, I learned to talk and here, my friends, is where I take credit for developing the majority of Amy’s patience. My first name means bright-headed and from what my baby book says, I had an answer for everything. Yet, despite all of my sass and more than a reasonable amount of temper tantrums, Amy was calm and never deterred from sharing every bit of knowledge with her baby sister.

It’s definitely a good thing Amy came first. If my mom had to navigate motherhood with a chubby-cheeked, bossypants know-it-all who laughed as she did the exact opposite of what she was told, my mom might have thought that one was enough! But, with Amy, my parents got a child who exudes all the things I struggle to possess–empathy, amiability, tenderness, bravery, patience, calm. Amy’s taught me most things worth knowing, from the ABC song to sticking up for myself. She knows how to set off my temper, but she’s also the first person to make me laugh again. For the love she’s shown me since I arrived, for all my toddler temper tantrums she’s endured, for all the wisdom she’s imparted, and for all of the silliness only sisters can share, I am thankful for Amy.

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

’nuff said.

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

Aside from a voice that didn’t shatter glass beautiful singing voice and maybe an extra few inches of height, there are few things I wish I were born with. One of them is a better sense of organization. It’s not so much that I’m scatterbrained, rather, my brain never wants to seem to slow down. Thoughts and ideas rush in at full speed and things can get cramped pretty quickly. In those moments, it’s easy for something to get forgotten or overlooked. Thankfully, sometime long, long ago in a land of overwhelming things that needed doing, I discovered the calming effects of visualizing all that needed to get done, making a to-do list, and the victorious thrill of crossing things off of it. Admittedly, for all the yoga I’ve done in the past 6 years and all the books on meditation I’ve read, I’ve experienced no greater sense of relief and peace than the feeling I’ve gotten from sending a final inky slash through the last item on a list of things that had once been burdensome.

Today, I kicked my to-do list’s butt and for THAT, I am thankful.

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

Today I was gushing to a friend and fellow blogger, Kris, about her beyond adorable cat named Little Bet. [If you are averse or allergic to cute and don't want your day brightened, do not under any circumstances click that last link. You will be overwhelmed with adorable! (and you'll get a great recipe for squash and quinoa salad!)] Little Bet is a snuggler. She was an orphan and looks for love from her human mama, which results in aww-inducing Instagrams of a little kitten sleeping under human arms, bringing the term ‘cat nap’ to heart-meltingly new levels.

In my jealousy adoration, I found myself making unfair comparisons to my own kitty, Mars. Mars isn’t a rescue, so he doesn’t have that unbelievably grateful affection to his temperament. He doesn’t mind being held, rubs up against me frequently and loves a good chin scratch. But, when it comes to sleeping, he likes the foot of my bed or the end of the couch rather than my lap or next to me. After I read Kris’s post, I googled to try to find out if I could train Mars to be a lap cat. After about 10 minutes, I gave up because a certain orange guy took it upon himself to nudge my hand and look up at me with his emerald eyes. He may not sit on my lap, but he knows how to push all the cute buttons, stays with me when I’m sad (even if it is on the other end of the couch), steals shares my cheese and makes me a much happier person :]

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

Sometimes, when life beats you up, the best thing to do isn’t to throw punches, especially if you’re swinging at air. Rather, when I feel like the world owes me an apology, I try to stop whining, dust myself off and do something nice for someone else: half because I don’t want them to feel as rotten as I do and half because it prevents me from being so self-centered.

And, sometimes the whole ‘do onto others’ idea surprises you, as someone treats you exactly how you want to be treated, with kindness and care when you feel lonely & unappreciated. This may or may not have taken the form of a heavenly slice of sweet potato pie from a very wonderful coworker this past week :]

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

My ultimate comfort food. When I was an overworked, underpaid admin assistant, there was a time when half our department was out on leave. I was tasked with training new people and somehow volunteered for way more responsibilities than what was healthy for my stress levels. On really rough days, I’d sneak over to my coworker Lauren’s cubicle, plop down on her filing cabinet and say with a sigh, “It’s a cheeseburger day.”

When the world overwhelms with projects and emails, drama and deadlines, I find solace in a soft bun, melty cheese, smokey char and slightly pink interior of a juicy burger.

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

I’m thankful for days when I feel like I can barely walk another step without collapsing, when I’m so exhausted I can’t think straight and when pulling a George Costanza and sleeping under my desk at lunch sounds more appealing than an all expenses paid vacation. On these days, God grants me those extra footsteps, holds my eyelids up and keeps my brain from derailing. Then, at the end of the day, gives me one last push and helps me pedal home when all I want to do is protest.

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

Not to get too political, but with the election all wrapped up, I realize just how many rights I have that I take for granted. Mostly, I’m thankful that the only fighting I’ll need to do before I get married will be with my sister, because I’ll probably morph into Bridezilla and she’ll do her duty as maid-of-honor/sister by putting me in my place. I’m not getting married any time soon, but when my future husband and I are ready, we have the luxury of doing so in any state in the US, having that marriage be recognized not only by my employer and insurance, but also by the federal and state governments. The fact that so many of my coupled friends cannot enjoy the same freedom to marry someone they love breaks my heart and I wish I could forfeit my right to give it to them.

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

I LOVE election day. I registered to vote 10 years ago and couldn’t wait to cast my ballot. 10 years later, my heart still thrums in my chest when I think about exercising my right to vote. I get a thrill of patriotism, a sense of pride for my gender and an overwhelming feeling of immense gratitude, knowing that there are millions of people around the world [many of whom are women] who don’t have the basic right to vote.

What are YOU thankful for?

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.

For the past two days, I’ve been learning about water, both in simplistic terms (icebergs melting) to complex ideas (transboundary issues resulting from the Southeast Anatolia Project–look it up. I had to).

If I were a woman in a developing country, I might have had to walk 5 miles in rocky terrain to carry a 45 lb jug on my head just to get clean water. Because the water supply was so far away, I may not have had access to sanitation. A combination of these factors would also mean that I would most likely not go to school. In reality, I sat, a woman with a graduate degree under her belt, drinking clean water from a plastic bottle, listening to the head of the National Science Foundation speak and furthering my education. I couldn’t be farther from the women I learned about.

This was going to be what I was thankful for yesterday, but as I engaged in more conversations about access to clean drinking water, sanitation and ecological systems, I can’t shake the thought of how thankful I am to have limitless access to clean water, which has never prevented my pursuit of an education. And, with the recent hurricane and people without basic necessities like gas, heat, power and water, I’m humbled at all of the simple things I take for granted.

This post is part of a project called 30 Days of Thanks, a daily reflection on gratitude spanning the month of November. For all the posts, click here.