Tis the season...

To be thankful.


Cliched, yes. But true. This post is a bit delayed, but the sentiments are the same. 


I'm thankful for friends. Who know where I've been. Who remind me where I'm going. Who sometimes lift me up, hold me up, keep me standing. And most importantly, who make me laugh when all I feel like doing is crying. For those friends who love & support me from miles away & minutes down the road. 


I'm thankful for having an extra dollar to put in the salvation army bin. 


For cold nights and a warm bed and good books. 


I'm thankful for coffee, wine and sometimes, tequila. Just being honest. 


For my parents. You are supposed to need them less as you "grow up", but I've found I need them now more than ever. For big things & little things. 


I'm thankful for Modern Family & Greys Anatomy. For giving me an excuse to spend time with some of the best ladies I know. To laugh. And sometimes, to eat really bad (read: gooooood) food. 


For moments of routine where I can just stop and...marvel. Like when we brush Gracie's teeth at night and we sing the same silly song together. Or while reading the same story every night for the eleventythousandth time, Grace giggles, right on cue. How did I get so lucky?


For yoga pants. 


For netflix instant stream and hulu, the poor man's DVR. 


For simple moments of pure thoughtfulness, like turning on the seat warmer on my side before I get in the car.


For Sunday morning coffee deliveries. We wait for that text to start our day and the company is just as anticipated and appreciated as the coffee itself. 


For hand-me-down expensive scented candles. A guilty pleasure I would never pay $25 for, which makes it feel that much more luxurious. 


For the memories I have of a wonderful childhood. I cherish these snippets, replay them in my head. If I listen hard enough, I can still hear my Nana's laugh. It's beautiful. And the more I work with children, the more I realize- it wasn't, or wont be,  this beautiful for everyone. 


For the cries of "it's Mama, it's Mama, that's Mama, Hiiiii Mama" that greet me when I pick up at daycare. Someday... she won't be so excited to see me. 


For football Sundays. Surrounded by my family, good food...watching the Patriots. It doesn't get much better. 


For a life, shaded with regrets, outlined in half-cooked dreams and big ideas and colored with a sometimes crazy, always beautiful here-and-now. 

You know what I'm mostly thankful for?

Shocker, huh?

But true. 

I wake up every morning, thanking my lucky stars that I was chosen to be that girl's mama. 

And trust me, SHE found ME, just when I needed her most. 

Gracie,

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the way you rub my back when I ask. For the fact you already know that I'll let you stay up reading books with me for as long as you want. Thankful that even though you are a Daddy's girl, there are moments that nobody but Mama will do. I am thankful for your belly laughs. I am thankful for your sleepy, sweaty curls. I am thankful for your ever expanding vocabulary & how cute and sweet you sound when you say "tan you", with a rising intonation & half-hearted sign language accompanying it. I'm thankful for your mischievousness & the opportunity to watch you smile. I am thankful for the "soup" you make for me in empty containers and then lovingly blow on, so I don't burn my mouth. 

I am thankful for YOU. Just the way you are. 

Love you to the moon & back, 

Mama.