Another Thanksgiving post

Guys. It's the end of November. How is that even possible?

Remember last year, how one of my biggest lessons was thankfulness no matter what happens, even for the littlest things? Well, I haven't been doing a very good job at that this year, but November has been a good reminder, because "thankful" lists have been popping up everywhere. It's a cliche thing to do, I know, but I've forgotten just how important it is, not just for one month of the year but every. single. day.

There's a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I haven't had a chance to read it yet*, but I do read her blog, and she has some really wonderful things to say. She is all about thankfulness, and she has an ongoing thing where she challenges people to find 1,000 things to be thankful for in a year. It's been an on-again, off-again thing for me, but I want to start keeping track again. It sounds so small, but it's amazing the difference it can make. I'm currently at 500, so I thought I'd start sharing a few with you guys**.

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501. A free weekend to go hiking at Star Mountain with Mike. It's only been forever.

502. Half-price coffee (or cider!) at Inman St. before classes.

503. Accountability and reminders to make God my very first priority. So vital, yet so easy to lose.

504. A text of appreciation from my boss. (It's a small gesture, but a rare one, so it meant a lot!)

505. Conversations with random people at work.

506. Learning what it means to help someone without words.

507. Little kids. They make my life better. (Josiah, a 6-year-old, after yawning: "I am NOT tired. I was just clearing my breath. I never get tired.")

508. Sharpie pens. They are THE BEST for doodling during class. And at work. And at home. And anywhere, ever.

509. Cardigans, scarves, and boots. Fall clothes are my absolute favorite.

510. Mike spending Thanksgiving with my family.

511. Survivor nights with the best friends.

512. Soup. (Colder weather requires warmer food.)

513. Giving class presentations that are actually interesting to me.

514. The stage of life I'm in right now.

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(I know. This is kind of a November/Thanksgiving-esque cop-out, oh-crap-I-haven't-blogged-in-forever kind of post. Except I really do mean it in the sincerest way possible. Really!)

Next up: CHRISTMAS. (I'm only slightly reallyreallysupercrazy excited. Just a little.) I have lots of post ideas, but probably zero time to actually write them. Still--I'm optimistic, so until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*There's a Christmas gift idea, if you needed one. Because I know you're all totally going to buy me gifts, right?

**Ideally on a more regular basis instead of just Thanksgiving...