I am so thankful for my darling children — I love that I get to be their mom.  I am thankful for all of my wonderful family.  I am thankful for my friends, old and new, here and at home.  I am thankful for technology — for being able to stay in touch so easily with everyone at home.  I am thankful that we have a warm, safe place to bring our kids home to, food to feed them, and enough money to have all the things that we need, and many, many things that we want.  I am thankful for modern medicine and its practitioners, especially those who helped Liam get through his first difficult days.  I am thankful for all of the people in my life:  past, present and future — for everyone who has been in my life at just the right moment so that I could learn or see something that I needed to (even if it wasn’t a pleasant experience at the time).  I am thankful for my own growth, for learning to let go of things, to enjoy life more, to be more flexible.  I am thankful for this opportunity to be abroad, to experience so many new things and gain so much appreciation for the “old” things.  I am thankful for the kindness I experience in the world — this journey is made so much easier with it.  I am thankful for naps, either when my kids take them or when I get to.  I am thankful for flannel sheets.  I am thankful for our sturdy old stroller that served us faithfully for over 3 years and which chose to fail tonight, in relative safety, outside of a restaurant, instead of in the middle of a busy street, getting off of a train or riding on an escalator.  I am so grateful for my wonderful, abundant life, and for how truly fortunate I am.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!