Thankful

Yes, this blog post is late. It's a few days past that bizarre holiday we Americans celebrate called Thanksgiving. But you know what? The post was late in part because of some of the things I have to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that I have such a wonderfully loving family who actually want to spend so much time with me. I'm thankful that they demand I put aside the books for a day to spend time with family, cook, and enjoy epic food. (Recreating all of our recipes to fit three completely different sets of dietary restrictions, yet still be delicious, is surprisingly fun. I loved it!)

I'm thankful for my health. No, really! As shitty as my health is, I can still function. I can still go to school full time, pull in an amazing GPA, and spend endless hours in the lab. As far as my pain issues go, I'm worlds better than I was this time last year. I don't have to take prescription pain meds and muscle relaxants every night just so I can get up the next morning. I am vertical and mobile without half an hour of agonizing stretching. My lungs may be going to hell in a hand-basket, but I'm grateful for the health I do have.

I'm thankful for my best friend. This guy has stuck by me through thick and through thin. When a medication turned me into an apathetic, depressed, non-social hermit last year, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He'd show up in his crazy little pick-up and whisk me off somewhere for shenanigans - ice cream, Indian food, taking pictures of our pretty campus, watching a movie... just getting me out again. Now that most of my other friends have either graduated or moved away, he's pulling me through again. He voluntarily uses his break time to pick me up from therapy to save me the cab fare. He hangs out and the most random times. He helps me with the shit therapy is putting me through. He has been my lifeline in more ways than he will ever know.

I'm thankful for my mind. Being an intellectual has been a wonderful thing these past few years. My activity levels are often restricted, so it's a good thing I enjoy just getting lost inside my own head.

I'm thankful for my boyfriend. No matter how rough things have gotten, he refuses to give up on me, on us, and he keeps trying to make it work between us. I don't know what I'd do without him.

I'm thankful for my dog. He's a bit of a nut, but he's a sweetheart. Whenever I come home, and I'm sick, he spends the whole night sleeping at my feet. Every time I so much as twitch a finger, he pads over to make sure I'm ok. The pooch may not understand bronchitis, but he's such a comforting presence.

I'm thankful for all of you, my readers, my friends. You've been with me through one of the craziest periods of my life. You've listened to my crazy rants and rambles, you've been a sounding board for my strange ideas, you've comforted me when the shit hit the fan, you've gone along with my crazy twitter hijinks. You all rawk hardcore.