a cliché, but of course

What am I thankful for on this Thanksgiving day?

I am thankful…

For the obvious things, of course. Things everyone mentions. Family, friends, food, shelter, warmth. Thankful that I personally didn’t have to endure any of the major disasters in the past year– the tsunami, the hurricanes, the earthquakes. Thankful that every member of my family and each one of my friends is safe and sound and healthy for yet another year. Thankful that my grandmother has found peace. Thankful that I live in a “free” country. Despite all its faults, despite all the faults of the government and administration, I’m thankful that I live in America.

But there’s more. I am thankful for every flower that makes me sneeze, every fallen leaf I have to rake, every blade of grass I have to cut, every weed I have to pull. I am thankful for each and every drop of rain, and all the clouds. I am thankful for the rays of the sun and the beams of the moon. I am thankful for the cold chilling wind of winter, and the sweltering heat and humidity of summer. I am thankful for the songs of birds, and children’s laughter. All of these things that I can see and hear and taste and smell and touch, I am thankful for because it means I am ALIVE. Too often we take the simple things for granted. We complain of the cold, or the heat. We complain the grass is too long, or it’s too cloudy. We complain the birds wake us in the morning, or the children won’t keep quiet. But when they’re all gone–when it no longer rains, when the birds no longer sing, when the leaves no longer fall, when children no longer laugh and play… then what is left? And what if it all is taken from you, suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning?

Just be thankful. For everything.