In today’s Thanksgiving homily, Father suggested we do a litany of thanks. I have been thinking of the many blessings in my life – too numerous to name here – and of the people who truly are instruments of God in my life. And so, because I have a sleeping toddler and a propensity to procrastination on looming housework projects, here goes…(in no particular order)

Thanks for the gift of being Catholic, for finding my home here, in “Rome,” and for the Blessed Mother and her gang of saints who continue to ride along in the buggy with me…

Thanks for Hubby, who tirelessly works for our family, who makes me feel like a queen, who loves me by loving my daughter, who makes me a better person each day…

Thanks for Babby, who has made me see that being a mother IS impossible, and that I can do it – and that it may be the biggest impact I can make on the world…

Thanks for Padre, who continues to answer my slew of questions, and who keeps me from going of the edge with his humor and his prayer…

Thanks for Mom Ann, who continues to boggle me and yet inspire me, with her deep faith and hilarious gullibility (how can we NOT tease a woman who ran over her son’s leg twice?!), and who raised Hubby to be the man I most admire…

Thanks for the in-laws, who laugh harder than I have ever seen people laugh, who have children crawling up the walls, and who inspire me to keep on going…

Thanks for Gran, who worries when she shouldn’t, who makes me food whenever I venture near, who has been the benchmark I hold myself up against, and who I am trying to enjoy as much as I can…

Thanks for Aunt & Uncle Gardiner, who tell me how it is, push me to do better, question me so I really know my reasons, and inspire me with their lives…

Thanks for Mom, who sends me her only copies of pictures of me at Babby’s age and who really loves me (hey, can you ask for more?)…

Thanks for my siblings, who love me (I think) even though I was the oldest and remain the wisest…

Thanks for Dad, who is the only person I know who can smile at 4 AM on a weekend having not had any coffee, who continues to brag to anyone who will stand still long enough about his little girl (and now his granddaughter), and who always, always pushed me…

Thanks for Vicki, who has stuck with it this long, and I pray will keep going…

Thanks for Aunt and Uncle P, who regale us with big city driving, talk with fun accents, and always, always, root for the Big Ten (though sometimes the “wrong” team)…

Thanks for Susan, who has given me the courage to say “love you” and has allowed me to share in the joy of her motherhood…

Thanks for Aimee, who is my common-sense, practical-to-the-bone inspiration to try out cooking (and who doesn’t care if I just show up, kid and all, to eat)…

Thanks for Carla, who I can only gaze at with wonder…

Thanks for Brittany, who’s the most intelligent woman I’ve met and the most fashionable person I will probably ever know…

Thanks for Amy, who is my shoulder and my ear, my cheerleader and my sage, my mentor and my kindred spirit, my behind-the-scenes medical adviser and my secret cooking pal…

Thanks for Megan, who inspired me to really blog…

Thanks for Maggie, whose struggles I have watched from afar, and who loves me back…

Thanks for Jenna, who was an answer to a prayer, 12 years later…

Thanks for Jodi, who reminded me that I’m a grown-up, and whose humor catches me when I most need it…

Thanks for Erin, who, though often a mystery to me, is dear and wise beyond her years, and truly a friend in the best sense of the word…

Thanks for Ali, who is a quiet example of what I want to be when I grow up, and a source of smiles and joy through her ministry of just being who she is…

Thanks for Sandy, who cracks me up, encourages me, and, bless her heart, prays for me…

Thanks for Sue, who’s a lifesaver and an inspiration…

Thanks for Ann, the most efficient woman I know, and truly God’s way of saying I can stay at my job…

Thanks for the wonderful parishioners who call me and tell me they love me, because – though I know it at some level – I have really needed to hear it lately…

Thanks for Julie, who, by being happy, reminds me that I too am happy (if cynical at times)…

Thanks for Michelle and Barb, cyber-buddies I relish, experienced mothers I watch, and Catholic women I admire…

Thanks for that MOMS group I didn’t think I could finish, because it turns out there WAS a reason I was there (though I still don’t think I know it)…

Thanks for Darren and Lucas, because they changed the lives of two women I admire and changed my life after I understood what life was all about…

Thanks for Logan, who changed my life…

Thanks for Olivia, Adam, Mary, Grace, and Meghan, who made me see that I could be a cool aunt, and who keep me cool with their enthusiasm and joy…

Thanks for Vicki and Ray, who help me write and keep going at the writing, no matter how much I protest…

Thanks for those I’ve forgotten to name (because the housework won’t wait any longer), because I need them, and maybe they need me, and I’m so very, very thankful…

THANK YOU, LORD!

Tags: Catholic, Christian, Faith & Reflection