Thanksgiving and Turkeys...

You all did a quick activity today that provided a little break for all of us and hopefully caused you to reflect on what you are thankful for this holiday season. I did not make a turkey, but if I had, the following four things would have been on his feathers...

1. My Faith. I am so thankful that I can live for Someone beyond myself, and that I have a hope and a future.

2. My Family. There are not many joys in life that can compare with little people who call you "mom"! I am thankful every day for healthy children, both in mind and body. (It also helps that they simply CRACK ME UP much of the time!) I am also thankful for a husband who loves and supports his family, but perhaps most importantly, someone I can laugh with and who is my very best friend. Not many people my age have parents as well as grandparents living, and I am so grateful for those people who have given me an example for living. I also have a wonderful sister and brother-in-law (though we have only viewed each other as wonderful since we have been adult :) ). It is probably even few people who can say that they have amazing in-laws! I love my mother and father-in-law to pieces and I just have the best brother and sisters-in-law and nieces and nephews on earth. Add my amazing extended family (cousins especially) to that, and it just doesn't get any better.

3. My Friends. Boy, there are days I don't think I would survive YOU people if I didn't have my teacher friends to vent to!!! I work with the best faculty on the planet, and I am blessed to call many of them my friends. Then there are those non-teacher friends, those people who keep me grounded in the real world and remind me that there is life beyond teenage drama. These are my "grown-up friends". :) I am lucky enough to have four best friends, people I can talk to about absolutely anything and know that they will always support me. Can life be this good, really?!?!?

4. My Focus. This is a broad category, and it mainly encompasses my passions in life. I would put all of you in this category, along with my job and my love for learning and literature. I truly feel that I was called to this profession and I hope that I am doing it to the best of my ability every single day. I also have to put my second profession in here, photography. I just love to view the world through a camera lens and I am lucky that I get to make money while having fun! Finally, in this category, I would certainly put my areas of focus in my life, the study of the Holocaust and the passion I have to educate on this topic as well as the topic of ridding the world of injustice. (Long sentence, likely a run-on...) I feel very strongly about many things and I like to spend my time thinking and learning about those areas.

So, that would be my turkey. He is an alliterative turkey, as you can tell. :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your break!!!