#10 My Chucks
Those of you who know me know that I take pics of my feet. Where have my feet been today? And those adventures have been marvelous. For over two years my Chucks have been in so many pictures in so many places doing so many things. I look at my poor shoes – dirty (afraid to wash them as they may disintegrate in the dryer), the sides tearing away from the material, missing part of the stripes – and I think, you are my favoritest pair of shoes ever! They walked me to a shark tank, they walked me past a shrine of a Saint, they walked me across the Bk Bridge for the first time, they walked me through an Impact Zone…. Thank you Chucks for being there to share in the adventure of my life. (giggle)
#9 Windows and the Art of Imagination
I think I am, without a doubt, the most imaginative 41 year old you will ever meet. It gets away from me sometimes. I love to Imagine (almost as much as I love to Wish for things). When I am on the train and a wonderfully depressing song plays on my MP3, I imagine that I am an ice skater gliding around the rink, arms extended, jumps perfect. When walking somewhere with Amanda I will imagine that “if this were a scary movie, we would come back past this cliff to find those climbers dangling from their two carabineers” (sick, I know). I imagine Alex standing in front of a class of students, white shirt sleeves rolled up, explaining a complicated equation to a future scientist or musician. So why mention windows – because some of my best imagining has occurred while looking out a window – on a train, sitting at the house, in the car.
#8 Sharing
Some of the best things have happened in my life while sharing with someone else. How much brighter a day is when you can share it with someone you love. How much funnier is a silly thought if you share it with a friend. How much easier it is to bear the weight of life if shared with another set of shoulders. How much tastier is a new dish when you can discuss it over the table with someone who appreciates it as much as you. What fun is your life if it is not shared with others?
#7 Books/Movies/Music
I grouped these three together and sit here for a moment and sigh. What a boring life this would be without these three. And I know that pioneers and cavemen survived without them…. I think that our ability to continue learning way beyond the years of our youth is one of the greatest things in life and I think Books, Movies and Music helps us further our education whether we realize it or not. I tear through books trying to soak in the story like a sponge. They open my eyes to other ways of thought, other ways of life. Movies transport me to places I can only dream of visiting someday. They take us to different times that have long passed and which we will never be able experience first hand. Movies aid my #9 on this list. And then there is Music – I hate when people ask my favorite song. That is like asking me to pick my favorite child. Impossible. They are all so different and have brought different things to me at different times in my life. My life is richer because of these three. Oooohhhh – AC/DC is playing in my memory and I am dancing on a desk with Laura Elliott in Brockman Hall… yes, music makes the memories sweeter.
#6 Laughter
Rhonda told me recently if she had to choose one thing that she had to do for the rest of her life and could do nothing else, she would choose laughing. I pondered that a bit and thought that that would be an amazing life if all you did was laugh. Yesterday evening I sat on the phone with Erin while we played Lexulous (remotely yet together) and laughed as she belted out her favorite 80s tunes. What a great way to end a workday. But my favorite laughter is that of a child. This past Halloween hearing Bella laugh in my backseat reinforced that. Over my birthday weekend hearing Ethan, Mercedes, Austin and Own giggle as Chris chased them reinforced that. I can remember one time when Amanda and Alex were playing in the living room at our old house on Kelly Avenue. I was washing dishes, it was a warm day, the windows were open and whatever mischief they were into made them burst into a fit of giggles that tickled my ears and made me put down my chores and go join in on the fun. Some fifteen years later I was listening from my bedroom on Atlantic Avenue, Alex was home on break and the two of them were talking about something in the living room. They broke into laughter and my ears were just as happy. A child’s laugh, my child’s laugh…nothing is sweeter.
#5 Cell Phone Technology
Yeah, I know I bitch about having to hear Mr. I Cannot Wait Five Minutes Till I Get To The Office To Make This Call Guy. HOWEVER – cell phones, what wonderful things they can be if used properly. How many snapshots have I taken and sent with my phone (one in particular gives me giggles – trying to sneak a pic of some creeper staring at me on the train to send to Erin and Mel and not realizing the sound was NOT muted and as the camera sound echoed through our section of seats the guy looked me in the eye with a most perplexed look…ha! who is the creeper now?!?). So many great bits of news have I shared with family over the cell. So many times have I been relieved to receive information quickly from a text. So many smiles have I enjoyed from a simple text received. (the best text ever I have saved on my SIM card says – “I am on my way. I love U!” – Amanda was heading to prom). So, yeah – just for today I will be thankful for the cell phone technology – I still have some hours till my commute home to change my mind….lol
#4 New York
I moved to New York April 2002. I was supposed to move in September 2001 but we all know what happened then and for that reason my plans were put on hold. As I approach my eighth anniversary as a New Yorker I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have been afforded by living here. This phase of my life has been amazingly rich in experiences. The people I have met, the things I have seen, the food I have tasted – all because of NY. I do not know why but the image of “Lou Gossett Jr” in his mini skirt walking down the platform of the A Train as Melissa and I stared with mouths hanging open comes to mind. Oh, how many times have I said, “Only in NY”.
#3 Kisses
Who doesn’t like a great kiss? Sigh. Ok, well, there are other types of kisses too. Kissing the crown of a newborn’s head as the doctor tells you they are healthy. Kissing my Mommy hello when I see her after a long period of time. In New York, everyone kisses you whether you want it or not…THAT I had to get used to. But how about that “first kiss”? Watching him walk across the street to you, smiling, eyes twinkling… grabbing you up and kissing you and right then you realize that this kiss, this one right here, could possibly be the sweetest kiss you have ever tasted. Sigh. Yeah, he made me a girl.
#2 Snapshots/Stories/Memories
Yeah I love to take pictures and tell stories about my memories. I like to write my stories out so I can remember the details of them later. I have journals that can make me cry, laugh or be pissed just with the flip of a page. Documentation is elemental in my life. My greatest fear in life is the loss of my memories. So all these blogs, stories, pictures – they all are like my own little security blanket. I love to have an audience that is enjoying the story that I am telling, I am animated and boisterous. I love to make them laugh or be amazed right along with me. I love it when people enjoy the pictures I take. I am a ham. And you love it, you know you do….. lol
#1 Loved Ones
This encompasses all of you – my friends, my family, my kids, my Christopher. How sweet my life is because of all of you. How great it is that I can make this list and think of stories that involve at least one of you for each and every number on here. How blessed I am that we travel along the same path in life. How very thankful I am that you are in my life…
For these things I am Thankful on this Thanksgiving….now pass the damn turkey! Ha!
Honorable Mentions:
Everything Bagels
Solar Rolls @ Umi Sushi
Toes in the sand @ Long Beach, NY
Tracks Bar & Grill
Jager
Erin’s bed in Boston
Thoughts and Ponderances 