Thank You to All These People and Things

And so, my friends, here we are.

It’s Thanksgiving again. Time to take a break from life and give thanks for all those people who mean so much to us and the things that make us happy.

If you’re anything like me, then you have a lot to be thankful for this year. Actually, I feel like I have more on my list this year than in years past. Real things, not just foods, movies, TV shows, and the like. That’ll happen after a challenging year that saw its share of ups and downs.

As things have mostly righted themselves for me and appear to be on an upswing, I’m giving lots of thanks for normalcy, and its return to my life. Welcome back. Please stay forever.

What else am I thankful for this year? Read on for my list, which is presented in no particular order.

• My parents, who still find ways to surprise me even after all these years

• This video

• My sister and brother-in-law, for raising three great kids who bring me joy in ways they don’t even realize

• Work. When you’ve been out of a job for the greater part of the last year and a half, having somewhere to go every day, people to collaborate with, and a paycheck are not things you take lightly. It’s just a bonus that I like what I’m doing now, and like even more the people I’m doing it with.

• The Good Wife and American Horror Story

• The “Hide” and “Unfollow Post” options on Facebook

• Matty, Billy, Lisa, Jim, Rich, Kendra … and James, too

• The folks at Finagle a Bagel in Chestnut Hill, who know me well enough that they start getting my order ready when they see me in line, even before I’ve told them what I want. That’s good customer service.

• Movies like 20 Feet from Stardom

• The Entertainment Weekly iPad app, and the fact that it gives me a “sneak peek” at the week’s new issue at 12 a.m. on Wednesday nights

• The Red Sox, and their improbable (but totally fun) rise from worst to first

• My professional network of colleagues and my personal network of friends, and the many people who fall into both camps, for looking out for me, sharing opportunities, cheering me up when I’m down, and not abandoning me even though I deliberately cut down on my offline socializing earlier this year

• Apple TV

• Tweets like this:

Yes, I can tweet out a Dvar Torah if that would help. RT @mjbarash: do you think Hebrew School should be cancelled tomorrow?

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 8, 2013

• Cookie dough pancakes at In a Pickle — so tasty they should be illegal

• John Mayer’s two most recent albums, Born and Raised and Paradise Valley, both of which only seem to get better the more I listen to them

• George Clooney

• Businesses that respond when they’re mentioned on Twitter

• Alex Dang

• The beauty and perfection of the The Office series finale (that’s what she said)

• Steak nights at Ruth’s Chris

• Bruce Springsteen

• Any business that acknowledges Hanukkah this or any year — but especially this year, seeing as the holiday starts tonight, almost a month before Christmas

• Not having to drive to/from New York for Thanksgiving weekend this year and battle the holiday traffic

• My upstairs neighbors, for moving out. Hooray!

• Good photographers on Instagram. People who put some effort into the images they share, and who make Instagram worth using because they share really cool, really great photos. And don’t cross-post them everywhere.

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, for being a reliable, still-delicious (and cheap) lunchtime option

And most importantly …

• You, for reading this. A blog is nothing without its readers, and even though I haven’t posted much in the past few months, I’m grateful for all of you who’ve poked and prodded me, and encouraged me to get back on the horse. I will, eventually. But for now, I’m also thankful for the freedom I have to step away to refuel my juices and reclaim my mojo. I’ll be back.

For all these things and more, I say thank you. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

What are YOU thankful for? I’d love to know. Feel free to tell me in the comments field below.