Five Things on Friday - Thankfulness Edition

I plan on blogging more specifically about Thankfulness next week, since 'tis the season and all, but I thought I'd get a head start with five not-so-ordinary things I'm thankful for. Every year, in my Sunday School class,  I make the kids draw and cut out their hand every Sunday in November and label each finger with one thing they are thankful for, no repeats. I draw the body of a turkey and place these "feathers" around him each week. Thus, the kids have listed 20 things for which to be thankful by the end of the month.

In the beginning, they are heartfelt, but they all look the same, "friends, family, food, house, toys." I am certainly glad that the children have such lofty priorities and understand what we should offer up our thanks for. However, I always look forward to that last week, when they have to get creative, "earrings, flowers, things that eat bugs, not asking me to build an ark."

And let's face it people, we should all be thankful each and every day for not having to build a stupid ark.

So, here are Five Not So Traditional Things For Which I Am Thankful:

1. Grandparents - I grew up very close with my grandparents and I frankly wouldn't change that for the world. To this day, I count them among my first line of defense. And I have worked very hard to make sure that my girls are just as close emotionally, if not in proximity, to their grandparents. All of them. Except my dad. That's a different story, though. I want the girls to grow up with a sense of connection and history. I want them to be able to see the world through the eyes of a different generation. I want them to know that even if mommy's head explodes, someone will take care of them and remember which one loooves tomatoes and which one gets all gaggy at the sight of tomatoes. But, really, that's all ooey-gooey stuff and doesn't belong in this post. I am thankful for grandparents because they help the world stay on its axis. They keep the kids when I can't think straight anymore, they buy them clothes that I would never, ever, ever spend my few clothing allotted dollars on, they reassure me that I won't kill them if they keep whining and they see only good, which helps me remember to see the good, too. Grandparents. I frankly don't know how anyone does this without them.

2. Joss Whedon - Okay, between being the mastermind behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, two of my most favorite shows of all time and still all I want to watch when I am sick or depressed, Joss has forever won a spot in my heart. But there is absolutely no other name in Hollywood who would guarantee that I'll be there to see that movie, no other person who I obsessively track on IMDB, no other name that makes my head whip around so hard I get whiplash when I hear it. Joss, if you're out there, continue making wonderful things. That is all.

3. Being Born in the Right Time - I've often felt out of time. Like being out of place, but not. I love the fashion and the music of the 70's. Not the disco-big hair-Studio 54 70's, but they bellbottoms with a macrame belt, super straight hair, Led Zeplin and Iron Butterfly 70's. I have often shaken my head and lamented that I was born too late. Of course, I'm wrong about that. I may not like the music and I may not love the clothes, but I was plunked in exactly the right era. The era where I can pick up my cell phone and send messages to my family, where I can video chat with my baby brother, where I can listen contentedly while the little voice in my TomTom tells me where to go and how to get there. And, where I can listen to both Led Zeplin (in crystal clear sound quality or lovable popping vinyl) and Nirvana without time traveling. I am indeed blessed.

4. People Who Like Things That I Hate - Let me explain. Having children is a terrible responsibility and a piece of that terrible, TERRIBLE responsibility is supporting them in the things they love. No matter what. This means that even though I was a drama geek, academic team nerd who wore flannel and listened to grunge music and my daughter is a girly-girl who wants to ride horses and take ballet and owns practically nothing that isn't pink, I have to support that. I have to play along and I have to get excited about the things she is excited about. Even if I hate them. And for that, I am so, so grateful and thankful that there are people in my life who read books that don't have zombies, supernatural creatures or bloody murder in them. I am thankful that not everyone in life hates pink with the passion of a thousand suns. I am thankful that I know people who can help me buy the correct art supplies and explain horsey vocabulary to me. Who see beyond the wall of pink to the individual pieces, who know what fashion is and that it extends past shoes. Because without someone to tell me what kind of bonding agent I should look for in colored pencils, I'd be a constant annoyance to my children. Or even more so than I already am.

5. Yarn and Books - Always. One of my favorite songs is my the Indigo Girls, "Cold Beer and Remote Control." Well, if there are only two things that'll soothe my soul, it's yarn and books, which is way less catch and I totally understand why they didn't write it that way. But anyway...

What are the little things that you are unreasonably thankful for?