Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Everything Thanksgiving I think back to the tradition of the turkey bag that we had at my house growing up. I think know I was the only one who really loved it. We cut out pretty “turkey feathers” from construction paper & each person at dinner had to fill out a set number with things they were thankful for. All the feathers went into a bag and we’d take turns reading them aloud and guessing who had written what. My sophomore year of college I started doing Thanksgivings with Mark’s family and the turkey bag fell to the wayside.

This year we’re obviously not able to travel to Ohio for us to celebrate with Mark’s family and so, in the absence of being able to practice the traditions we’ve started with them, I figured I’d pay homage to the turkey bag and share some of the things I’m thankful for here on the blog.

In no particular order…

I am SO grateful to be pregnant and a little sad that it’s all about to come to an end. I had hoped to be able to have a first child but wasn’t sure if that would be possible. I never allowed myself to think about having a second child and even though this pregnancy has been difficult I am still in not a huge rush for it to be over (especially given that Mark, myself, and everyone involved in my care has agreed a 3rd pregnancy wouldn’t be a smart idea for me).

I know I complain about/mock some of my medical team on here, but I’m really grateful for my cardiology team. They truly care about me and my family and today the clinic coordinator emailed to check in on me and “our” baby because she considers all the Marf kids to be part hers.

Mark has been incredibly supportive during this pregnancy, from late night donut runs to taking over the cooking, cleaning, and evening care of M. Last night he even brought me a poinsettia to mark the 7th anniversary of us dating (which I’d totally forgotten about).

Whoever invented Starbucks pumpkin bread is on my thankful list, as is my friend Kathleen for introducing me to it. It’s my drug of choice. Don’t judge.

I live somewhere where hitting the 30s is record breaking freezing and it’s all over the news. That makes me happy. It’s Thanksgiving and I didn’t need a winter coat till today!

Seeing M. seem happy at his new school is awesome. I can’t help but laugh as he walks into his classroom and dumps his jacket, backpack, and whatever stuffed animal accompanied him to class that day on the floor as he heads off to grab a toy. He usually doesn’t give me a backwards glance but he is always excited to see me at pickup and that is a huge improvement. I can’t help but melt at that smile!

I’m also grateful at everyone who has helped out as I’ve had problems come up with this pregnancy: those who brought over meals, helped babysit M., and the family that has taken shifts these past few weeks, all to help make sure Smudge stayed put until he was full term.

What are some things you are grateful for this year?