The thankful list for 2015

In case you're new here: on Thanksgiving Day, I post a list of 50 things I'm thankful for.   I picked the number 50 rather randomly, but it works out nicely because making a list that long stretches the ol' thankfulness muscles a bit.

Here's last year's thankful list, in case you want to take a peek at it.

(I never look at the lists from previous years before I write the current list.   But even without me looking, some of the same things pop up every year, even when I think I'm listing something New! and Different!   I am nothing if not predictable.)

Oh, and you should know that these are not in order of importance.   That would make this job way too hard.   I just type 'em as they pop into my head.

I'm thankful:

1. that I have girls old enough to watch Jane Austen movies with me.   Yay!

2. that math has been less stressful this year. The last couple of years have been a bit rough, but we seem to have hit our stride a little better, and I'm so grateful.

3. for my small group friends.   I count them among the dearest people in my life.

4.  for the people at my church who love and invest in my kids.   Of course our kids are mainly the responsibility of Mr. FG and me, but it's a good thing to have other kind adults in our children's lives.

5.  for my van. I know for sure I've put this on the list before, but it had to happen again. I loooove my minivan.   It will have my devotion for all my days (at least while my kids are at home!)

6.  for  books. And the library. Our lives are so much richer because of all the books we can read, thanks to the library.

7.  that  I can play the piano. There are a lot of other more unique and interesting instruments out there, but it's hard to beat the raw utility of piano skills and that appeals to my practical self.   People/churches/organizations are always needing piano players!

8.  for Tex-Mex food.   It is my favorite.

9. and also for heavy cream.   It is another of my favorites.

10.  and while we're talking about food, I'll add hot, fresh, homemade bread.   With butter.

11.  the steady supply of food we experience. Throughout history, there has been so much scarcity, and even now, a lot of people still experience food scarcity.

12.  the  variety of food available to us.   In times past, even people with wealth and status still didn't have access to this much produce and so many other fresh foods, especially in the winter.

13.  for our new flooring.   This year we got new wood flooring to replace most of the carpet, and got new carpet in the kids' bedrooms.

14.  that  my house has very little carpet now. I'm not the world's biggest fan of carpet, because it's hard to keep nice and it ages poorly.   The only carpet we have now is in the 3 kids' bedrooms, and this is a happy thing for me!

15.  for  Mr. FG's ever-changing work schedule.  The consistent thing about his work hours are that they are always changing....every two years or so, we get a shake-up, and while it's a little rough adjusting at first, it does keep things interesting, and keeps our lives from being overly predictable.

16.  that  the kids and I have flexible schedules.  If we had inflexible work/school schedules, it would be so much harder to work with Mr. FG's hours.   But as things stand, we can usually shape our days to match his, which makes it much easier to eat together and spend time together.

17.  for children old enough to stay home by themselves.  It's a delightful thing!

18.  for  easy teenagers.  2/4 of ours are teens now, and instead of becoming awful, they've become more enjoyable as they've aged.   Phew!

19.  for  hugs, especially from Mr. FG.  My happy place!

20.  for  all of my work-for-myself jobs. The flexibility that blogging/piano teaching/piano playing has affords me has made it much easier to mesh motherhood and working.

21.  for  no debt, plus money in the bank.  We're pretty behind on retirement savings, but still, I'm grateful to be without debt (except for the house) and very grateful to have multiple savings accounts to cover expenses.

22.  for more budget flexibility than we used to have.  As Mr. FG's career has progressed, his pay has gone up, and we find ourselves with more wiggle room than we've had before.

It is really, really, really lovely to live frugally by choice rather than by necessity, and my years in necessity mode help me appreciate our current state instead of taking it for granted.

23.  for  vision correction.    My eyes are really, really bad, and sometimes I get pretty jealous of people who never have to mess with glasses or contacts and all of that. But it would be far worse for me if no one had ever invented vision correction devices.

(I've thought about Lasik, but I already have dry eye issues so I think that's probably not going to be in the cards for me.)

24.  that  God loves me no matter what and that nothing in all creation (including my own failings)  can separate me from his love.   I'm so grateful that none of this depends on me.

25.  that my children don't need me at night. (as a rule!) Or right away in the mornings.   There were lots of years when that wasn't true, which helps me appreciate my current stage even more.

26.  for the kind teachers at our martial arts studio. The kids and I go to a class all together, and we love our two teachers.

27.  that  I don't have to pretend to have it all together.  The older I get, the more I realize that we are all messes in our own special ways and that there's no point in trying to convince everyone else that I'm not a mess.

Welcome to the Club of Hot Messes that is humanity.

28.  that  we can still learn from other messy people and that I can help people even though I haven't got it all figured out.

29.  for  a delightful audience of blog readers.  I'm continually grateful for this community here that is overwhelmingly kind and gracious.   There are some scary comment sections out there, and this isn't one of 'em.

30.  for  people who encourage.  Every now and then, someone will write to me and tell me how much my blog brightens their day/encourages them/helps them, and that is super-duper encouraging to me.   I know it takes time and effort to send an email, and so I'm especially touched when people are inspired to send me a note of thanks.

And I'm reminded of the importance of doing that for others.

31.  that it's ok to be me.   I don't have to feel bad that I'm not an extrovert or that I like to stay home or that I like routine.   I mean, it's good to learn to be flexible when possible, and to stretch myself, but it's also ok to accept that my natural tendencies probably won't change much.

(At least when those natural tendencies aren't a tendency toward something wrong or hurtful.)

32.  for  parents who helped me to be confident.  My parents never said discouraging or disparaging things to me, so  I grew up believing I could do pretty much anything I put my mind to.   I think this inner confidence helps me bounce back when I encounter troubles or setbacks, and I'm thankful for that!

33. for  37 years. I've been thinking a lot recently about how it is a distinct privilege to get older, since not everyone gets that chance.   I don't know how many years I will have, so I'm grateful for these 37!

34.  for  the differences between Mr. FG and me.  Our differences can feel like the opposite of a blessing sometimes (!), but I can see how they've stretched and grown us, and how we balance each other out.

35.  for  family dinners around our table.    Now that our kids are older, family dinners are getting to be fun and entertaining.   And no one cries or fusses, which is pretty epic.

36.  for  my kids.  Mr. FG and I often say to each other that we are blessed with four pretty awesome kids. 😉

37.   for  health. And health care.  

38.   for  Instagram.  I love it so! Pictures and a few words...so fun to share and read.

(I'm thefrugalgirl over there if you want to join in!)

39.  that I sleep well.  Most nights, I'm out like a light and I sleep until the alarm goes off.   I know this might not be the case my whole life long, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

40.  for the internet.  It's got downsides, but oh, I would never want to go back to an internet-less life.

41.  for  Ting. Love it! And love my (refurbed 4s) iPhone.

42.  for  my white kitchen cabinets.   I really did NOT love them before, but now that they're white, I like them so much more.   Yay for paint!

43.  for  the help Joshua is to me at church.   (I coordinate the music there.)  He can drum, play bass and guitar, and sometimes he sings with me too. Uh, not all at the same time, tho!

I've lost some of my musicians over the last year or so, and I don't know what I'd have done without Joshua.   He's cheerful about it all too, and he's pretty unflappable with last-minute key changes and such.

44.  that  I was born in the 20th century.  Life isn't perfect (it never will be!) but I can't really think of a time in history that would be a better time to be a woman and the more I learn about history, the more I am grateful to have not lived in the past.

45.  that  I am (sort of) tall.  I'm 5'8", and I'm so content with my height.   I'm tall enough to reach things on high shelves but not so tall that I have trouble finding clothes.   In fact, I feel like this is the height I'd choose if someone had given me options!

(Thank heavens we don't get to choose.   Imagine the problems that could cause.)

46.  that  Mr. FG loves me.  

47.  for my house.  It's not my dream home, but it's safe and warm and adequate for our needs and it is so much more than a lot of people around the world have, so I'm thankful for it.

48.  for  cheap movie theaters.  Without 'em, it would be crazy-ridiculously expensive for the six of us to ever go see a movie.

49.  for  my blogging friends.  I've never met them in person, but it is lovely to have pals who understand this crazy blogger thing.

50.  for all of the love in my life.  Our scare with Sonia's eye this spring reminded me/showed me how loved my family and I are, and I am so thankful for that.   There's not much else in this world that is more valuable.

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Alrighty! That wraps up this year's list.   If you'd like, add a few things you're thankful for in the comments. I'd love to read them.