I am grateful for my health, for knowing what my gifts are and what I was put on this earth to do, for the friendships that feel like family, for Linus’ pink belly, for Egyptian cotton.

I am grateful for the blessings I’ve received and the strength and courage I have to keep myself open to receiving them, for pies, for wrap-around porches with rocking chairs and sweet southern tea.

I am grateful for the support I get daily from strangers around the world, for falafel sandwiches, and for butter.

I am grateful for Chris, his ability to make me laugh, think, and cry every day, for how he’s always there when I need him most.

I am grateful for my sister’s laugh and how loving and needy she is, for our history together, clawing up the stairs of our house, for her heart and her health.

I am grateful for Starbucks toffee nut lattes and iced caramel macchiatos, for the wisdom I’ve gained from my family, for the closeness I have with them, for their health and happiness.

I am grateful for the clarity I have about the direction of my life, knowing what my passions are, for lacy bras and clean underwear.

I am grateful for Smelly and her ability to calm me, for the way she quotes me, for her loyalty.

I am grateful for Dulce’s perspective, heart, and unrelenting love and support, for her giggle and love of me, for our cheese plates and Rieslings.

I am grateful for Monique, for always feeling like sweats and flip flops is a night on the town.

I am grateful to Herman for saying "I’m glad you called" even in the middle of the night.

I am grateful for Woo Lae Oak.

I am grateful for my education, for grilled cheese sandwiches, for the strength I have to be honest.

I am grateful for Gay Max and his advice, for the soup and flowers he brings me, for letting me call him Gay Max.

I am grateful for leftovers and delivery, for the strength I’ve found in the most lonesome, frightening, places, for the shelter, for having the dedication to follow my dreams in the face of negativity.

I am grateful for being taught I can do anything I set my mind to.

I am grateful for my hands, for my ability to communicate, for air conditioning and movie theaters. 

I am grateful for Alexandra and how alike we are, how we think the same way, and finish one another’s sentences.

I am grateful for lamp-lit snow, salty hamptons streets, and the new friendships I make in yellow summer days.

I am grateful for wine vineyards, the ability to travel, for free will and the love I have in my life.

I am grateful for my childhood, for my fat adolescence, for my now.

I am so grateful for my ability to honor and trust my intuition.

I am grateful for a family that forces me to get up and dance in the face of tragedy.

I am grateful for my ability to cook, to speak my mind, for strangers who smile at me. 

I am grateful for the heartfelt emails from strangers who tell me I make a difference in their lives, for my KitchenAid food processor and mixer, for my knives and all-clad.

I am grateful for the Paddington Bear on my desk, and for the person who sent him.

I am grateful for barefoot beach barbecues, campfires and flashlights, bug spray, and old friends who can always pick up where we left off.

I am grateful for being recognized for my gifts, for my heart, for my love.

I am grateful I was born a woman in the US.

I am grateful for the kindness of strangers, for my ability to feel emotions so strongly (the good and the bad), for knowing how to learn from my mistakes. 

I am grateful for my jobs, the privileges I was born with, and the strengths I inherited.

I am so grateful for my ability to laugh in the face of tears, to love openly, and to live with kindness as my motivation. 

I am grateful to those who have made room for me in their lives.

I am grateful for the love I’ve been shown in my life, in my days, in all my moments.