Found(ation of) Gratitude: 8

Myself and the month of November. We're the kind of friends that like each other in a very distant way, because we seem to separate each other from what we really want--like snow and winter, or family, or love. I usually spend the month by myself, apart from that glorious thing called Thanksgiving.

I have debated for a few days now on when I should express my gratitude for my husband. And then, like a sudden rise in temperature, I am warmed by the thought that I'm not spending November by myself.

Joey and I have never been together in the autumn. We've been together for over two years, and aside from a brief trip home in November 2009 (during which I saw him for about half an hour and then had the worst Thanksgiving of my life), we've never seen each other in this beautiful season. We have spent Christmases together and summers and I've even flown home for spring break. [Once, he took the train to visit me in Chicago. It was technically spring, I think. But the snow would've suggested otherwise.]

I thought about this in the summer, after the wedding, and was exhilarated by the possibilities fall brings.





#8. I've found I'm thankful for my husband. I'm thankful for the joy he brings me every day. For the way we share laughter, sadness, and adventure. I'm thankful for how hard he works, and how willing he is to take care of me when my college stress overlaps with married life stress. I'm thankful for the free food he brings home from Panera. I'm thankful that we're both in one place, not 2000 miles apart, and that we can spend this season together. I'm thankful for the love we have, for the warmth in him, and for what a blessing he is to me.