I am Thankful

I have so much for which to be thankful today.

• I am thankful for Isaac.  And for the wonderful people that trained him and placed him with me.  And for all the people, friends and strangers, that donated money, in some cases large amounts of money, to help cover the cost of getting a service dog.
  
• I am also thankful for Cayenne.  I am thankful she's here with me today and that she seems to be feeling better.  I am mindful that this may be her last Thanksgiving with me and I am so happy she is here.
• I am thankful for the opportunity to spend today serving Thanksgiving dinner to people at the Community Kitchen in Columbus, Ohio.  I'm thankful for a place to be, for the ability to serve others, and for people with whom to spend this day.
• I am thankful for the friend that invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with him and his family.  I won't be there because I'll be at the Community Kitchen all day, but I was so touched to be invited.
  
• I am thankful for the people in my life that love me and that have done so many kind, caring, loving, generous things for me.  I'm not gonna try to name them all here.  I'd probably forget to name someone.  But I am thankful for them all.
• I'm thankful for my neighbors, kind people that love Isaac.
• I am also thankful for all the readers of my blog.  I love your comments and your encouragement and your support.
• I am thankful for my home.  I know I didn't like my apartment much when I first moved in but I like it now.  It's home now and I am thankful for all the things I have here.
• I am also thankful for where I live.  I love being out in the country.  I love the farmland all around and I appreciate it every time I drive somewhere.
• I am thankful for space that is my own.  Sometimes it's lonely, living alone, but I've loved being able to set up my space in a way that is as accessible as possible for me, given my physical challenges.  I love being able to be more green in my life, doing things like giving up paper products for cloth.  I love having the space to be myself and to try different things.
• I am thankful that I have enough to eat today.  And every day.  Although money is often tight, I never go hungry.  Most of the time, I have really good food, too.  And I am mindful that many people do not.
• I am thankful for the local food pantry that helped feed me this month and to all the people that donated food to the food pantry and to the volunteers that staff it.
• I am thankful for the new boots I bought last month.  I haven't worn them yet.  But I know I will be ever so thankful the first time it really snows and I have to take Isaac out for a walk.
• I am thankful for my bathtub and a nearly unlimited supply of hot water.  Right now, I am running a hot bath and in a minute I will be blissfully soaking away some of my pain.  Hot baths are one of the things that makes my pain bearable.  I have a big tub and never run out of hot water, unlike where I used to live where the tub was tiny and there was barely enough hot water to fill it.
• I am thankful for the weighted blankets I made a few months ago.  They've helped reduce my anxiety a lot.
• I am thankful that five years ago, I was able to have gastric bypass surgery and that I have lost, and kept off, 130 pounds.
• I'm thankful for the group of women that make up my weekly support group for gastric bypass patients.  I'm thankful for that weekly touchstone.
• I am thankful for my health.  Oh, I know I complain about my health sometimes, and it is true that I have some health problems.  But I am thankful for the health that I do have.  For instance, I am thankful my back problems aren't even more debilitating (and I think they would be if I hadn't been able to lose, and keep off, so much weight).
• I am thankful for my  health care providers, including my primary care physician, my psychiatrist, the surgeon that did my breast biopsy six months ago, and the dentist that recently did some fairly extensive dental work for me.  I don't think I've ever been an easy patient, but I've been far more difficult this past year, I know, as a result of the traumatic experience I had in the emergency room last November.  I'm thankful I've found health care providers that are willing to put up with me and provide treatment in a sensitive, caring way.
• I am thankful for my new bridge.  It's nice to have teeth again.
• I am thankful for both Isaac's and Cayenne's vets.  They both have wonderful, caring veterinarians.  And I'm thankful that Isaac's vet gives us a discount since he's a service dog.
• I am thankful for the SSDI benefit I get every month, and for Medicare, and Medicaid, and food stamps, and HUD-subsidized housing.  Those systems aren't perfect but without them, I would be living in my car and would not be getting treatment from my wonderful health care providers (unless they all decided to donate their services, that is).
• I am thankful for my work as a freelance writer.  I'm thankful for the income it provides, but also for the opportunity to do something I do well and to receive recognition for it.
• I am thankful for Isaac's dog walker.  Isaac adores him and I can tell he really loves Isaac.
  
• I am thankful for my car.  It's old and not in the best of shape, but it runs and the heater works and the air conditioner works, and I'm so glad I have it.
• I am thankful for my laptop.  I was telling a friend the other day how I would be really isolated without the internet.  My laptop allows me to connect to so many people.  It allows me to work.  It provides information and entertainment for me.  I'd be lost without it.
• I am thankful that I am resourceful and actually enjoy a lot of money-saving things, like making my own laundry detergent.
• I am thankful that I am creative.
• I am thankful for many of the skills that I have, like the ability to sew, to make my own laundry detergent, to research things, etc.