Thankful Thoughts

I was in St. Louis recently for my nephew’s birthday. My mom had a copy of last November’s KC Parent sitting out. When I inquired as to why she had that particular issue on the coffee table, she said she held onto it because she liked my editor’s letter. I like lists and in last year’s letter I did an A-Z list of things for which I am thankful. Mom did note that for the letter “M” instead of being thankful for my Mom, I was thankful for margaritas . So, without really remembering much from last year’s list (other than the “M”) here’s my 2012 A-Z thankful thoughts.

A: Allison Lynn, my younger. I continue to be amazed at her loving heart. She likes to ask “would you rather” type questions and recently asked her sister, “Would you rather have me as your sister and no friends OR lots of friends and no sister.” When Tori turned the tables and asked Ally what her answer would be she replied, “I’d choose having you as my sister, because you are my best friend.” Melted my heart!

B: Breakfast. I am thankful for starting each and every day with my girls while they eat breakfast. For this school year they moved from eating at the table to sitting at our kitchen counter. It’s nice to spend 15-20 minutes chatting each morning before we all head off to our daily destinations.

C: Coffee! From a fancied up latte from Starbucks (yes, I do note the date of the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte on my calendar) to a cup of my favorite flavor made at home, a good cup of coffee is my usual start to the day.

D: Dogs, as in, I’m thankful we don’t have one.

E: Electricity. Seriously, so thankful for it-what would we do without it???

F: Food. I like (okay, love) to eat, and I love to enjoy a meal out with friends and family. We always have such fun times at our annual “fancy Christmas dinner” that my Dad treats us to each year, and I relish our nightly family conversations over dinner (and am thankful that they will move away from political discussions, which have been a common dinner topic at the Sarver table for the past several weeks!).

G: Gloves. When winter hits, I get cold! Thanks to whomever invented gloves to help keep my hands warm and toasty.

H: Home. What more can I say? I am so thankful for the home with which I have been blessed in which to raise my family.

I: Internet. What would we do without??

J: Jewels. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again (and I know it’s shallow) but I love jewelry!

K: Kansas City. We are fortunate to live in KC, it’s the best place (in my humble opinion) to raise a family.

L: Laughter. I am so thankful for the family and friends that bless my life daily and for all of the laughter we share!

M: Mom!! My mom is truly one in a million and I’ve said it before, when it comes to moms, I won the lottery. She’s the best and I love her!

N: Night. I love, love, love my girls, but I also love, love, love when they go to bed. I am thankful for relaxing and hanging out with Ty once the girls go down.

O: Octopus. Okay, not really, but I could NOT think of anything for “O!”

P: People’s Court. It’s confession time, I LOVE this show! Don’t ask me why, there isn’t one redeeming quality to this show, but for whatever reason, it totally captivates me. I guess it’s like looking at a car wreck, it’s just so hard to look away. I am thankful for mindless TV on days when I need to take a “reality break.”

Q: Quakes. I am thankful for my word games on my Kindle. My personal best in my favorite game is 88 points by playing the word “quakes.”

R: Radio. I am thankful for good music and thankful for satellite radio reminding me of long lost songs that I love. (The Sun Always Shines on TV by Aha and Common Ground by Rhythm Corps-classics!)

S: Slowing Down. I learned my lesson last week when trying to multi-task by taking care of some work items over the phone while trying to make dinner. Result was a cut from a can on my thumb, requiring a trip to urgent care with instructions to “not get it wet and take it easy.” Well, I’m right-handed and it’s hard to get things done with a banged up right hand, so I’m getting the message to slow down (and I’m thankful that my injury wasn’t worse than it was). Take a lesson from me before you get hurt, slow down!

T: Ty, my one and only, who puts up with me every day. God bless him for being such a patient, kind and loving husband and father to our girls.

U: U2, this one will never change. I did not get any closer to my goal of meeting the band this year, but my quest continues. Any help in locating the band when they are appearing the U.S. would be appreciated!

V: Victoria Marie, my older. I am constantly impressed with her independent mind and spirit. Recently I was talking to her former soccer coach who commented on how much he appreciated the fact that “Tori does what Tori wants to do, regardless of what the crowd does.” Made me one proud mama!

W: Weekends. I am thankful for our family rule of only one activity outside of school. Ally chose gymnastics and Tori chose art class and I am thankful that due to their choices we have our weekends free to spend together as a family because as I’ve learned, these years are going by way too quickly!

X: eXcellent Teachers. Okay, so I am fudging a bit here, but I am super thankful for all for all of the teachers that teach my girls

Y: Yams. Well, I’m running out of ideas, and I am thankful for all of the yummy Thanksgiving food, so yams it is!

Z: Zeta Tau Alpha. I am thankful for my college sorority sisters. This past summer I attended a reunion with 12 of my Zeta sisters. It was truly a vacation for my soul. I hadn’t seen most of them in over 10 years, and it was as if no time had past. It was such a treat to spend several days enjoying the company of these fantastic women and laughing until we cried!

Here’s wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!!