There is always something ~ @AuthorKristina Knight

Before you think this is going in a complainy direction, let me finish the quote in the title bar. There is always something .... to be thankful for.   

I'll be honest, I think I have a pretty charmed life between getting to write for a living, being married to my own personal romance hero, having the coolest chick for a daughter (even in the midst of the Terrible Thirteens). I have a family I love. Work I not only enjoy but that I think helps to heal our world. I have friends I can rely on and who rely on me right back. 

Yeah, life is pretty charmed around here. It isn't always easy, but I think those hard things just make the sweet moments even sweeter. I know, Pollyanna Kristina has taken over the blog once again! 

We wranglers are going to be blogging quite a bit about thankfulness this month - it is, after all, American Thanksgiving coming up and there are all kinds of social media thankful hashtags to chime in to. I'm starting it off today and I thought I'd highlight a few of those not-so-great moments. Because even in the middle of a pandemic, we can still find things to be thankful for, can't we? Okay, here we go. 

I am thankful that bebe is back in a school building. We're lucky. Between my schedule and RadioMan's, it wasn't a hardship for her to do the online school thing last year. However, online school didn't give her time with her friends and it was fairly isolating for our social butterfly. This year she's back in a building - and there have been a few rough moments being back there, too, - and I am thankful that she is because she's finding her balance again, building friendships, and striking out on her own a little it. 

I am thankful for rainy days. I know, I know. And in a few months I'm going to ask y'all to remind me of this one because we'll be in the grips of Grey Ohio and I'll be desperate for sunshine and color. But over the weekend it rained here, a lot. All day Friday. Most of Saturday. Most of Sunday. Rain, rain, rain. It sounded nice against our new windows and the splish-splash was fun to listen to. The rain put me in the mood to write, and since I'm in the middle of revisions I indulged the moment and started something new. Eh, I'll catch up on edits this week!

I am thankful for used up journals and empty pens. Because an empty pen means a trip to the office supply soon to pick out new pens. And used up journals are reminders of all the hopes and plans and daydreams that I've been living for however long I was using the journal. I love looking at my stacks of empty, ready-to-use journals on my shelf, but I am learning to love using them up, too, because what good is paper if it just collects dust? 

I am thankful. Just thankful. I'm thankful we were able to replace 3 of our last 'original' windows before the winter hits. I am thankful that we have enough to eat, that we take the time to cook meals and watch game shows together. I'm never thankful about those 13 year old melt downs, but I'm always thankful that I get to listen to her laughter afterward. I am thankful that I have RadioMan, that my car is in good shape, for wax melters and holiday scents filling the house, for the silly Hello Kitty POP! figure on my desk, and the snowman 'Believe' dust-collector under my monitor. 

What are you thankful for?