Ungrateful.

I've been feeling cranky the last fews weeks. I'm feeling down, annoyed that I'm unemployed, bored, lonely, a tad depressed, unmotivated, lazy and most of all, ungrateful. Despite the many and multiple blessing I have in my life, I'm angsty and have what my parents would call "an attitude problem." People usually write a "things I'm thankful for" list around Thanksgiving but given my current state of discontent, I'm writing mine now. In no particular order...

I'm thankful for...

- snow. I am! As much as it is making me absolutely CRAZY at the moment, I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful that it's so, so beautiful. It makes the world a little quieter thanks to its sound dampening qualities (seriously, isn't that just the coolest how everything goes silent? Love it). I'm thankful that the snow will make me appreciate spring and summer so much more because I'll remember the inconvenience of winter. I can't imagine not living somewhere where there aren't 4 seasons because it lets you appreciate each one so much more. Plus we get a legitimate fall, which is the most beautiful season and apple orchard weather can't be matched in places like California/Florida/Hawaii. There's only so much crisp air those places can bring and its just not the same. Plus cute fall boots makes so much more sense where there's actually a fall.

- my husband. AC, as I refer to him on here, is so, so smart. He is kind. He tutors kids in math even though he doesn't particularly like kids. He's affectionate and adores me to pieces. I love that he said "I love you" and kissed me first, because it was adorable and completely unexpected. He is funny! He puts up with me (seriously, that's a big thing). And knows everything about everything- a walking encyclopedia, if you will. He does the laundry because he knows I HATE it. He's super serious in casual encounters but cracks up at the most random things at home and is super goofy.

- my parents. Seriously, my parents are AMAZING. They are smart, silly, and put up with me during my teen years... and even now. There really aren't words to express how much I adore them, actually. It kills me that I'm so far away from them. They've always been there for me (and my brother).

- older people. Ageism is a seriously ugly thing. Yes, elderly people drive slow. They walk slow in the super market and occasionally engage you in conversations that don't make a whole lot of sense. But they have better and more interesting stories than our generation will ever be able to tell, love letters that will never replace emails, and a certain idealism that our generation(s) regards as lame. It's cool to be jaded, now, and I think that's so sad.

- our apartment. It's convenient to downtown without actually being downtown. It's walking distance to 4 different neighborhood markets. Our neighbors are 4/5 awesome, even if they do slam the door sometimes. It's warm, cozy, ours, and the rent is waaaaay less rent per month than it should be. We're right next to a bus stop- love that, because the bus is way more convenient than driving if I'm going downtown and don't feel like walking. My neighbor has a dog that is ugly, but delightful to see because he loves me and is constantly scratching at the door when neighbor takes him out. We live near the library (which is downtown). And we have a landlord who isn't terrible.

- libraries. I have about a million books that I've never read, but a library book is so much more interesting. Maybe its the added time crunch? But seriously, we have a surprising excellent library here in New Haven right across from the Green. I've read 5 books in 3 days... got 2 of them at the library! Hurray! I really need to start working on my book list, truth be told, but I need to finish the ones I already own. The two from the library were just ones to get me going.

- my former coworkers/ my former managers (except one). They were my Lexington family and they are awesome. I have a post about some of them coming up, because they are hilarious, fun and creative, especially when given a blank notebook and alcohol. Like I inadvertently did at the wedding, and the result is AMAZING! A true work of art. I found it the other day while cleaning out the bookshelf and laughed so hard. Ridiculous.

- for the fact that other than the whole "deformed gallbladder removed before Christmas" spectacle, I don't have any health issues. I've never had the flu, never get colds/ the crud... there are so, so many things that can go wrong with your body (as I've learned over the last year through other people) and I'm so lucky that none of that has happened to me.

- my childhood friends. I don't talk to them often, but they're there. I love and adore them and sometimes I feel like the distance between us is my fault, since I'm the one who moved away (twice, from Atlanta to Lexington and then jumped to New Haven). But I still love them to pieces and miss them so much.

There are a million other things, I'm sure, but right now I needed a pick-me-up. What are YOU thankful for?