The Other List

Happy Thanksgiving! As I have been talking to friends this past week I am reminded that the holidays and time with family can bring out the good but also the challenging aspects of family relationships. I am feeling a little out of sorts this holiday. While I am so grateful for the friends and family that will be joining us tomorrow at our house to celebrate Thanksgiving, I am also a bit sad about those that will be missing. Due to complicated family dynamics not all of my people will be present and it has me feeling a bit off. 

In light of this, I decided to make the less than traditional list of things I am thankful for this holiday season. Not to be irreverent – I am indeed very thankful for my family and friends this season as well as our health and gainful employment. I don’t take any of these things for granted. But, I am also thankful for the following people/things that often don’t get their due…

1.    School bus drivers. These amazing people drive 30-40 unruly, unbuckled kids to and from school each day and I am sure don’t get compensated nearly enough. They buy me 15 extra minutes of sleep each day.

2.    The heated seats in my new car. Seriously. Michael has asked me not to turn it on when I am driving home from work because it increases my drowsiness but…I …can’t…help…myself.

3.    Peppermint mochas and the awesome baristas who find the delicate balance between just enough and too much peppermint. It can turn a cup of coffee from liquid joy to feeling like you have just been to the dentist.

4.    Closely followed by good friends who bring you the perfect peppermint mocha…just because.

5.    Whoever made those diagrams of how to set a fancy table. I only do it once a year so I forget every time. That diagram is just for me.

6.    Happy hour because every so often, you need a happy hour.

7.    My patients who don’t try to hit, scratch or bite me – they are actually the majority and for this, I am thankful.

8.    Yams. I know most of you don’t like them but I do. I also like cranberry sauce – not the kind that still has the rings from the can on it. The real stuff.

9.    Melatonin. Not just for me but for my son who thinks sleep is evil.

10.  Ellen Degeneres. If ever I am feeling blue, I just DVR Ellen. That lady can make me laugh until I hiccup.

11. Books. The real, non-electronic kind. Nothing beats reading a good book and turning the pages. The real pages.

May you be surrounded this Thanksgiving with people you love and be reminded of the things you are thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving.