Thanks, Part 1

I've been so scattered this month that I haven't been taking the time to blog much about the things I am grateful for.  I've planned to, I've thought about it, but I just haven't paused to write them down.  So:

#1: I am grateful for today. I'm planned, my materials are ready, and I have time to breathe and write before my classes start.

#2: I am grateful that the show I directed went up this past weekend, and that the students involved rose to the challenge with flair and good grace.  I'm really proud of the work they did and the maturity they found within themselves. 

#3: I am grateful for the colleagues who supported me and my students--by attending, by encouraging their students to attend, and especially my supportive, understanding administrators and our music teacher who went way above and beyond to do all of our sound during the last few weeks of rehearsals and at every performance. 

#4:  I am grateful for my book blogging club--for half an hour every other day, I get to hang out with a room full of really cool students and geek out about things ranging from the Hunger Games trailer to my love for Neil Patrick Harris.  And without them, I would probably not have started writing here.

#5: I am grateful for my family--my husband, of course, is the easy one--but also my mom and dad and sister, and new step-dad, and step-sisters, and step-brother-in-law, and step-niece, and my mother- and father-in-law, and sister-in-law, and my aunts and uncles and twelve first cousins, and two first cousins once removed, and my cousins-in-law, and my husband's aunts and uncles, and first AND second cousins, and great-aunts and great-uncles, and then of course all the people we're not related to but who are parts of our family anyway (godparents, neighbors, former babysitters/adopted grandparents, teachers, etc.)    Whew!

Ok--enough is enough, for this post at least.  I still want to write about books that I am thankful for, but that's a post for another day, I think.  (Maybe tomorrow morning when I'm hanging out at JFK!  I am definitely thankful for Jetblue's beautiful T5--takes a lot of the yuck out of flying on Thanksgiving!)

Have a great holiday if you're in the States; otherwise, just have a good regular weekend, I guess!