5 Things I'm Thankful For Now That Thanksgiving's Over

Pre-Thanksgiving, I was all boo-and-hiss about the whole cornucopia-loving holiday, until of course, my young Gibblet inspired me to #OccupyThanksgiving.

By the way, the whole celebration went off without a hitch, steamy side dishes included, and now that we’ve also made it past the Black Cyberness, I’m still feeling thankful. Call it my post-turkey glow.

Why?

Because of this quote a friend shared as her status on Facebook around the time of bountiful feasting:

“Happiness is wanting what you have. Stress is wanting something different.”

I don’t know who said it, but said person is a sage, extremely wise genius. I’m totally guilty of the wanting-something-else stress, especially since my wants often apply to pie-in-the-sky dreams like living in Europe or having a full-time job outside of the house with adult conversation and company nanny fees be damned.

Not always of course, but sometimes I catch myself wanting the not possible (right now).

My new goal is to focus on the possible (right now) in no particular order, and think a zen-y thought about how blessed I am to have it.

Read on, read on…

1. Jeggings. Without them, my hearty helping of Thanksgivingness wouldn’t have been possible, my husband wouldn’t have noticed how much weight I’ve lost around the baby-carrying middle, and my mom would have complained regular jeans were too frumpy for the family occasion. I’m especially grateful for that last one.

2. Juan Valdez. The hot, slightly smoky, Colombian caffeine only fueled the conversation in the best of ways, making everyone seem that much more hilarious once the kidlets had retired to watch Curious George and Scooby-Doo. Who knew my mother would tell us an urban legend all about the history of the word “f***,” and that my mother-in-law would relax her stodgy Britishness and snort a little while cracking up. Apparently, she has a thing for hot Latin men who ride burros. Who knew?

3. Reddi-Wip. Without this deliciously creamy whip in a can, my son would not have been able to discover the delights of squirting it directly into his mouth, a la Dad.

4. Snafus. Small ones of course. Nothing says “holidays” like a pie that has the entirely top layer slide off and become a completely unsaveable, unusable, sticky mess; much like children who steal all the dinner rolls and squish most of them en route to the dining room. These teeny fiascos set a laid back tone in my mind, and for someone who likes to keep things as un-fussy as possible, bring it!

5. Black Cyberness (otherwise known as Black Friday + Cyber Monday weekend). Yep, I’m one of those folks who likes to get a good deal on the goodies that will go under the tree. This is where ArtooDad2 and I divide and conquer. He actually ventures out in the dead of night, all ninja-like and bundled up like Rocky in that sweatsuit to knock off most of the kids’ wishlists; while I man the motherboards at home, picking up all things on sale (with free shipping!) for us grown-ups. This year, we were quick. Just a few hours out and even less spent online. Win!

I didn’t put my family, friends, food, home and jobs on the list, because I think those are pretty obvious, Gibbs said it so well on his own list (pictured), and they’re much less amusing to read about than Juan Valdez’s hotness (MIL’s words, not mine), and picturing my husband dressed like a ninja with little-old-lady-style shopping bags slung over both arms.

So tell me, what’s giving you that post-turkey glow?