I know Tuesday’s are usually the days I tempt you with snippets, however November is the month we generally take to give and be thankful and I thought I’d take the remaining Tuesdays to make a list of things I’m thankful for…

Life. I am thankful for life. There are many who fight for theirs every day due to illness, war, meanness of others, natural disasters. The Philippines are experiencing such a huge loss of life and seeing it in the news, all over the internet, just makes me more and more thankful to be alive.

Freedom. Veteran’s Day was yesterday and I am thankful for the men and women who make it their life’s work to ensure the freedom of others. They sacrifice everything, even their lives, time with their families, to make it so the rest of us can have ours.

Health. I have mine. I am overweight, yes. I like food, yes. I hate exercise, yes. But I’m healthy. The blood work says so. 🙂 I walk, I do yoga and stretch and I do leg lifts and squats and whatever else is possible while I’m cooking. I stand to write about 50% of the time. And I’m not stressing about weight anymore. That’s a big thing. I’m not stressing about much anymore. And I smile.

Family. I have a good one. Good, intelligent, kind-hearted kids. Good husband (he doesn’t wait on me hand and foot, he doesn’t do things unless I ask, he doesn’t even know how to make my coffee, but he goes to work every day and he mows the grass). I have a good and supportive mom. A hard working sister. A brother I’m glad found me. And a grandmother I can’t imagine life without. I have extended family too and family that isn’t family by blood but rather by love and devotion.

Friends. I have a few who I count as friends. I have more acquaintances than I can shake a stick at. I am thankful for them too, but my friends? I don’t know how I’d make it through some days without them. There are the ones who text me at just the right moment. The ones who send me instant messages and emails just to say hello, I’m thinking about you. The ones who know what I’m thinking even before I do and who know me at times better than I know myself. The ones who get my sarcasm and don’t judge me for my addiction to coffee. There are friends I’ve lost and friends who’ve just stopped talking one day and while that makes me sad, I am thankful for the friendship that once existed.

Readers. I am thankful for those who read my books. They may like them. They may hate them. But I am thankful for them all (though I do wish the ones who hated my books would be a little kinder in saying so…). I am thankful that I can make a reader happy with a book. I am thankful for the friendships that have developed with some of my readers. I am thankful for the support, the patience, the understanding, the interaction, the desire for more… Without readers, I would still write, but with them, writing is a lot more fun.

Feel free to use the comments section to say what you may be thankful for today.

~lissa