Ten on Tuesday - Let Us Be Thankful

I'm so sure that today's Ten on Tuesday topic is going to be 10 Things I'm Thankful For that I'm going to take a chance and write it ahead of time on Saturday. *

* To avoid repetition, Carole has tweaked the topic just a bit to 10 Things I'm Thankful For Right Now. I'm so grateful for some of the big things that they have to remain on the list year after year. I'm also thankful that what I wrote on Saturday still works (with only a few minor revisions) on Tuesday!  

I'm thankful for games like Scrabble, Mahjong, and St. Petersburg that I can play online because my husband won't play games due to some childhood trauma involving tears and being hit on the head with a Monopoly board.

1.   My Family - A wonderful husband, two terrific sons, a loving and accepting extended family - I couldn't ask for a more wonderful bunch of people.

2.   A roof over my head and a comfortable home - I am so grateful that we have been able to afford a house, as it's something not to be taken for granted. It takes a lot of maintenance and I've been known to complain about the increasing property taxes, but I'm also glad we have the ability to pay those.

3.   Enough money for a comfortable life - This one is huge and I'm thankful every day.

4.   The ability to read - I'm thankful that Mrs. Neusch taught me to read in first grade, that my mother always supported my reading habit by not telling me to go outside and play too often when I was immersed in a book, that I have access to some great libraries, and that I can find out almost anything I'm curious about by reading.

5.   The ability to knit - I'm thankful that my grandmother taught me how to knit, my mother reinforced it and helped me when I got stuck, that I can buy yarn even when I don't need it, and I can show people how much I care by knitting for them.

6.   Health - Overall I'm in good health, and so is much of my family. We've had some years where this hasn't been the case, so we try to take care of ourselves and I don't take good health for granted.

7.   Access to health care - We have health insurance, and while it has a very high deductible, we can afford it and it is insurance. I hope we never meet the deductible because that would mean someone is quite ill, but it is comforting knowing that insurance and access to health care is there if we need it.

8.   Ironing - This one comes with a caveat. I'm not especially thankful for ironing, but I am thankful that I finally quit procrastinating and spent all of Sunday afternoon working on a mountain of ironing. What I'm really thankful for is that it's all done!

9.  Tea - It's a small thing compared to my family and a comfortable home, but I really am gratified that somebody thousands of years ago thought to put some tea leaves in hot water. It wakes me up in the morning, warms me when I'm chilly, and calms me when I'm feeling stressed.

10.  I am thankful that my list this year is remarkably similar to last year's; I am so incredibly lucky to have this much good fortune on an ongoing basis.

I'm also thankful for everyone that takes the time to read my ramblings. Thank you!