I’m laughing out loud right now because this is my annual
“thankful” post and the only thing I can think of is my dear friend Eric on his
birthday two years ago saying “I AM SOOOO THANKFUL” as we walked home from “OUR
NEIGHBORHOOD BAR” in North Berkeley. Memories to last a lifetime, let me tell
you. And I am so thankful! For those friends and that
neighborhood bar, absolutely. But also for many other things.
This year has been a lot of things. And next year is going
to be a lot of things, too. And, I guess, hopefully every year is a lot of
things. But this last and this next are part internship, part regular school,
living in three cities, kind of bonkers nonsense. These last few months in
particular, as we all began our internships, have been a time of incredible
transition for me and for many of those I hold most dear. We have been pretty
able to stay well-connected across the miles and time zones, and for this I am
most certainly thankful.
I am ineffably thankful that the American people re-elected
President Barack Obama. I am ineffably thankful that the policies of the second
Obama Administration will move our many fights for equality forward.
I am thankful for my dear family, my visits with whom are
getting to be few and far between. It is my great joy to spend holidays with my
extended family and holidays plus regular life with my parents and brother and
his boyfriend. Our giant family is so good at adding one more chair to the
table and one more air mattress to the basement. At the risk of quoting Olive
Garden, when you’re here, you’re family.
I am thankful for the opportunity to be here in Colorado,
learning about living into this vocation from a supervisor who cares deeply for
his people and for the future of the Church we call home.
And I would be remiss if I did not give a very loud, public
thanks to all my dear friends across this country and world who are the number
one reason that I can say each day is a great day to be alive. I miss each and
every one of you each and every minute I am not with you. You bring me great
joy. Oh, great joy.
And as is customary, the remainder of this post is a list of
things for which I regularly give thanks—some serious, some not-as-serious.
Harry Potter (serious)
Chelsea Lately
(not-as-serious)
Granny Smith apples (etc)
Zumba
Neon
Scarves
Jimmy Fallon
Shellac manicures
Spotify
The Obamas
Tanqueray and tonic
How I Met Your Mother
Sweatpants
Farkle
SNL Weekend Update’s “Girl You Wish You Never Started Talking to
at a Party”
Instagram
Graduate school
Napa
Soy lattes
Abbrevs
Etsy
Boots
Jon Stewart
Glitter
Health insurance
Hot buns
The West Wing
Preschool chapel
DVR
Ruffles
Board games
Hashtags
Baseball
Voting