thankful

Each year that goes by, I have more and more to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for my two beautiful, healthy boys.

I'm thankful for a good solid marriage with a good solid man. I keep hearing that the divorce rate amongst parents of kids with Autism is 80%. I can see why, we've had more than our share of stress over the past several years. But in riding out the storm, it's made us stronger. I think our commitment to our family has been made stronger because it wasn't easy to do, yet we chose to stick it out anyway. I'm also thankful that I'm still crazy in love with him (and that it seems to be mutual!), which I know isn't always enough to keep a marriage together, but it certainly makes it more fun!

I'm thankful that I continue to enjoy the company of my parents, my siblings and their families. And The Map Man's family too. Both families are full of good solid marraiges, which I found very supportive when things didn't feel so solid.

I'm thankful for friends, both old and new. One of my favorite songwriters once wrote "Old friends, they mean much more to me than the new friends, 'cuz they can see where you are, and they know where you've been." I dunno. I love my new friends pretty intensly. They may not have been by my side during the walk, but they've been walking the same path. I think that counts for as much as the ones that have been with me all along.

I'm thankful that we're still here on our farm. That almost wasn't the case, we came really close to selling last fall. But we decided to stick it out, come what may. We're still not sure what may come....but we're enjoying being here, and we have every intention of remaining here until someone drags us off kicking and screaming....

I'm thankful for wagging tails, warm pony breath, goat kisses, fresh chicken eggs, purring foot warmers under the quilt at night, and sheep dotting the landscape in the early morning fog.

And last but far from least, I feel like we are perched on the edge of Autism Remediation for Jacob. If that's not a reason to be thankful, I'm not sure what is.

Happy Thanksgiving, and a warm pony hug, to you all!