Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a thankful freebie.  Here are ten things I'm thankful for, in no particular order!  They are all equally important to me.  :)

1. Family. Of course, I know this will top everyone's thankfulness list, but it bears repeating every time.  I have such a great support system.  I'm expecting, and I'm totally calm because I know that I have a whole big group of relatives (both by birth and by marriage) who will be by our sides as we tackle new-parenthood.

2. Friends.  Where would any of us be without friends?  Not only my close personal friends that I've had for a long time and will have for a long time to come, but also good work acquaintances.  Love them all!

3. My job.  I love, love, love going into work every day.  I'm Teen Library Services Specialist, which means that I get paid to have fun with teens.  Just today I spent a couple hours 3D printing with folks; tomorrow I'm going to play Giant Connect Four.  Can you believe I get paid for this?!

4. Resources to Pursue My Dreams.  My hubby is AWESOME and has ok'd us spending a chunk of our household income/resources on my further education.  I'm pursuing a Masters of Library and Information Science, and this is using money and my time.  Just last night he gave me his whole-hearted support to drive across state for a library conference for one of my classes!

5. The Hubby.  I suppose he's technically covered in "Family" but he deserves his own line.  He's super sweet and supportive (see #4) and a great leader of our little family.  I can be a bit *whimsical* at times; he brings me back to earth without crushing my dreams.  I'm sometimes overly enthusiastic about work; he's supportive of my crazy everywhere schedule.

6. Tucker.  Our dog.  He's a boxer, sweet, more loving than I sometimes deserve, a goofball, and total fun.  When I get home at the end of the day, he is literally beside himself with joy that I've returned.  (He does this whole wiggle-butt thing where he ends up curled nearly in half.)  He's even a joy just to watch; he has this fun habit of tossing an empty plastic bottle across the backyard and chasing it.  He's self-entertaining!

7. My Church.  My church truly is a church family.  I know without a doubt that if I ever needed anything at all, I could put out a call to our pastor and be overwhelmed with support.  And I love being able to give support in return.  Next week I'm signed up to take dinner to a family that just welcomed a brand new baby.  I get to help them celebrate that big event!  (And maybe get to hold the baby!)  Most of my closest friends are fellow members of my church.

8. My Childhood.  Working with urban youth, I am confronted every day with the very hard realities that they face, and it makes me grateful all over again that I had the happy childhood that I did.  My parents did so much for me and my sister.  From the little things, like Hawaiian Nights or Christmas-in-July, to the big things, like making sure that I never wanted for anything and never suffered, not even from a head cold.  I had an unbelievably good, positive childhood.

9. Books.  Would any bookish Top Ten be complete without this?  More than just my primary (and definitely my favorite) form of entertainment, I'm grateful that I live in a country that doesn't censor what books are available to me.  I can read anything I want!  I could go to my local Barnes & Noble and buy The Anarchist Cookbook if I wanted!  (I don't, but I like knowing that the FBI won't swoop in and arrest me to browsing it.)  I also love living in a nation with so many public libraries.  FOR FREE I have access to MILLIONS of books and materials!  And yes, I'm even more fortunate in having a job and the resources to own many books myself.

10. The Little Things That Make All the Difference.  I wake up each morning in a warm bed next to the man I love.  I have a fully stocked kitchen, with no fear that we'll run out of food.  I have a car to get me to and from work and the store.  I have an umbrella for when it rains.  Heck, I even have clean drinkable water out of numerous faucets in my house!  There are parts of the world where that's unheard of, and I nearly take it for granted.  Every day there are millions of reasons to thank God.

What are you thankful for?  Leave your link and I'll be sure to visit!  And have a happy Thanksgiving!