“Be present for all things and thankful for all things.” ~Maya Angelou
I am thankful for much, including the following 30:
•my parents (without them, there aren’t the following 29)
•being a Texan, extra thankful that Cristobal Ramirez received a land grant in oh, about 1767 or so…that’s a lot of generations of Texans
•a big family and getting to grow up with my cousins
•my brother, Tony – all the fighting, adventures, dirty clothes, bad haircuts and our childhood spent barefoot, learning to fall, scraping our knees, and getting up without crying
•football (almost tied with my parents as first on the list)
•my brother, Evaristo – all the laughing, shenanigans, getting into trouble, my innocent looking albeit kinda evil baby brother with silver teeth whose motto at 5 was “sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll” while wearing his beloved Mickey Mouse t-shirt
•Huck Finn
•my Old Timer, my first pocket knife…it killed many a lizard, scaled many a fish, and left many a scar on my clumsy hands (glad I still have it)
•great writing, and the authors who created the good books
•moving around as much as we did when I was a kid – oh, the places I went, the people I met, the chances I took, the lessons I learned
•my beautiful baby sister, Maria Estela – love at first sight in her tiny pink blanket, perfect face, pretty brown eyes and the happiest 7 1/2 year old big sister in Louisiana – finally, a sister! xo
•good food
•being raised to have confidence, and with discipline and accountability
•a great immune system
•Howie Long
•the greatest friends a girl could have
•having had wonderful teachers & mentors in my 50 years
•moving back home to San Antonio in 1984
•socks
•my years at UT – the good, the bad, the ugly, the poor, the bitter, and all the great that was to become because of it all
•the physics of baseball
•lip balm (and moisturizer, in general)
•all of life’s conveniences – ice, tooth paste, toilet paper, cotton, room service, mustard, A/C, aspirin, Post-its, etc.
•ESPN, and its empire
•necessary wars
•soldiers, past and present
•fried lemon pies and fried burritos (most fried foods, actually)
•the love and loyalty of cats & dogs – yes, even cats
Liberty, Peyton and Storm: their love and loyalty add so much to our home.
•words of wisdom given to me by my grandmother
Her words are even more meaningful this year: Live your own life, for yourself. Don’t depend on other people for your happiness.
•my beautiful every day life with Peter Fithian, it’s a wonderful life…and getting more so all the time.
And more so all the time because I am definitely thankful to be living my life, in love and loving as much as possible.
Happy Thanksgiving. XO
