The List, Pre-T-Day Edition

Just prepping in case the ex's new family is one of those go-around-the-table-and-say-what-you're-thankful-for groups. This list may change by the end of the day tomorrow, and this year is peppered with caveats and melancholia.

I am thankful to have lucked into a privileged enough life that the next lungful of air, sip of water, and bite of food are a foregone conclusion. I am thankful that, as much as I howl about the injustices perpetrated against women and gay folk around the world, I have barely been brushed by it myself. In the face of so much tragedy and horrors experienced by other people on a daily basis, my personal thanks feel almost petty. But I am thankful wholeheartedly and try not to take any of it for granted.

So.

I am thankful for my healthy, happy, amazing son... even as thousands of other mothers in America will spend tomorrow grieving for their sons and daughters killed in Iraq or shipped home minus limbs, eyesight, or complete brain function, sons and daughters coming home physically intact but emotionally forever changed by the war.

I am thankful for my parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts... even as thousands of children in Iraq will spend today, tomorrow, and the rest of their lives missing family members killed in the conflagration we've created.

I am thankful for my partner and the life we have created together... even as gay couples in 27 other states will spend tomorrow with the knowledge that the places they call home have decided to deny their relationships legal recognition and protections, likely for the duration of their lives.

I am thankful for my house in a safe neighborhood, with a roof that never leaks and a front door that leaks but can be fixed in an afternoon... even as much of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast still lie in ruins, with no Ty Pennington bus on the horizon promising to make their dreams come true.

I am thankful that the midterm elections give us hope for change... even as the infighting and pandering politics rage on.

I am thankful that I may love and be loved in return.