So Very Thankful

I’m not the biggest fan of Thanksgiving.

It has a lot to do with the fact that Thanksgiving was not a huge deal in my family. In my childhood, Thanksgiving was best known for the four days away from school and the dessert night my family would always hold on the Friday following.

Then there’s the whole mass genocide of indigenous North Americans that bothers me as well. Hitler modeled the Holocaust after Andrew Jackson’s removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands, use of whiskey, and small pox blankets, after all.

Then there’s the fact that J’s grandmother left this Earth last year in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning.

Yet… this year we have a LOT to be thankful for. Big things. Brutally honest, clear things. 2011 was not our best year. 2012 has turned out to be much, much better.

I am thankful for Ant’s fourth grade teacher, who got him back on grade level in reading (and almost there in writing) in one TRIMESTER. After the utter failure that third grade turned out to be, this has been a huge boon to our family. Ant is, once again, excited to go to school and to learn.

I’m thankful Ant no longer has panic attacks when to comes to even thinking about writing.

I’m thankful he was recognized this week, in a school-wide assembly, for being the fourth grade student champion of his school for his efforts. He was so proud to accept the award—where even the community and business partners shook his hand and patted him on the back.

I am thankful for the two promotions at work my husband has received in the past year. My husband works so hard, and even though retail management can be a thankless job, knowing that he is being recognized for his hard work makes my heart swell.

I am thankful to have this blog as one of my main creative outlets. I know I haven’t been on here much in the past two months, and yet, people keep stopping by to read. I’m thankful for you!

I’m thankful that I had the opportunity at work to write a grant proposal (which is why I’ve been remiss in posting here) that asks for a chunk of change to help us start something really cool. I’m glad that the second draft of that proposal is now done (as of yesterday)!

I am thankful to work with women who believe in me, who want me to strive, who want me to stretch my limits.

Most importantly, however… I am thankful that K is still here with us. I am thankful for the knowledge of how to navigate the mental health care system in our country. I am thankful for Zoloft. I am thankful for minimal side effects. I am thankful for Exposure Response Therapy. I am thankful for his therapist and for the teachers he’s told who support him at school.

I am thankful that my son can now start to talk about it with his extended family and friends without feeling like others knowing would be the end of the world.

And I am so very thankful he’s alive. I am thankful that when he had decided it would be better to die than live like this, when he started considering how he should do it, that he came to me to talk, instead. That he gave us the chance to help him.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this year. I plan to make the most of mine.

This post is in response to the Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt to tell what you are thankful for.