Thankful.

I'm just sitting here on my lunch break at work, thinking about all of the many things for which I am thankul. Things are hard but good, and I'm learning new things every day about what it means to be a wife, a partner, a friend, a caregiver, a woman, an adult, a citizen, an advocate, and a human. I have so many things in my life that bring me such joy. Here are a few of the many things I'm thankful for in my life right now:

• Healthy, happy cats with bellies full of food and coats beautifully groomed (I've seen a lot of sick animals at work recently, and it makes me so thankful that mine are healthy & happy).
• Feminist movie nights with some new friends, watching empowering documentaries and sharing life together... meeting new people who embrace me immediately & share in my passions & interests.
• The fact that my husband is awesome enough to come to some of these female-empowering documentary evenings. =)
• Laughing with co-workers and realizing I'm actually doing a pretty good job.
• Going to bed early (but still struggling to wake up in the morning?).
• Having an amazing movie night with a dear new friend & discovering the powers of When Harry Met Sally
• My parents. They came to visit last weekend and it was the best weekend I've had in a long while. They're awesome & I adore them.
• My sister.... she is kicking ass in Miami, and I'm so proud. How are we related? She's surfing & taking acting classes.... two things I would never have the guts to do. Love her.
• Waking up early on Saturday mornings to talk about social justice in Nashville & to learn from empowering Black leaders.
• Going to Yoga a few times a week at the YMCA. For 90 minutes of my day, I get to feel strong & in control. And hopefully also trim down those glutes.
• Hearing people's stories. I have met so many amazing people who have devastating but such empowering stories to share. They are amazing people & I'm honored to learn from them, whether clients at work, community members in the social justice committee, students at Vanderbilt, etc.
• The fact that Christmas is only a few months away. I can't stop thinking about getting our first little Christmas tree & putting it in the corner of our living room for our cats to destroy. It's going to be so adorable/frustrating/hilarious/maddening/awesome. Can't freaking wait.
• Oh, and did I mention my husband? He is so supportive, I can't even believe it. He believes in me more than I ever believe in myself. He listens to me blabber because he knows it's important to me to share stories with him. He lets me disagree with him & invites me into conversation so we can learn from each other (which, let's be honest, I'm benefitting from that one since he's got all this crazy Vandy Div School knowledge to share with me!). Also, he looks really cute in sweaters. =)

Basically, I'm thankful for a lot of things.