Yesterday I celebrated American Thanksgiving with good friends and family, delicious food and wine, and beautiful weather. I am thankful for so much in my life that listing all of the things would take me days but I still wanted to recognize how truly grateful I am for my life, my health, and my family. When I think about the best parts of my life, here’s the first five things that come to my mind…
1. My loving, supportive family. My definition of family has drastically changed over the last few years. Brothers and sisters, parents, and grandparents will always hold my heart and my hand in life. My family has expanded to include my partner in crime, my husband and the most meaningful part of our lives, our daughter.
2. My friends. This Thanksgiving was spent with two of my most cherished friends, Lou and Jill. They have taken me under their wing and treat me like a daughter. The way they interact with Athena warms my heart and has extended my family in California.
3. My health and the health of my family. Every day I’m grateful for the health family and friends and I hope for the health and wellness of others.
4. My career. I’ve made a career out of what I love the most in the world – travel. When you spend every day doing what you love, you never feel like you work a day in your life.
5. My wealth. This one sounds selfish, but without a financially stable situation life can be taxing, even if you have a loving family and friends and good health. I’m not rich and we manage our money well, but I don’t worry about how we’re going to afford to eat or put a roof over our heads.
Thanksgiving is not all about turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. The name of the holiday conveys what the day is supposed to be about. We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. What are you thankful for this year?
Bucket List Publications 
I thankful for my supportive parents, my health (mind & body), and everyone who cares about me in my life. 🙂
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Great post and glad that you had a Great Thanksgiving. I too am thankful for my partner in crime (had to borrow it) 🙂 We had a nice quiet day and celebrated it with crab legs and cheese fondue since it was just the 2 of us.
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“A man is wealthy who has enough.” Lao Tse.
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I don’t think being thankful for your wealth is “selfish”. Being a college student, l struggle with money, but l manage it well and l’m not broke yet! I’m thinkful for the money and also for the money l don’t have because that means it all went towards a good education. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. 🙂
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Indeed. ❤
I'm grateful for my health, my family and grandchildren, for the roof over our heads and for the food we have available to us.
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family as well… along with good friends… my job I love… and a healthy mind and body…
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Beautiful Post. Im very grateful for my family, friends, supporters (Whether its a follower on social media or a friend), and my passion for film and writing. Happy Holidays to you and your family!
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I’m Thankful for God’s Grace and Mer cey towards me allowing me to see the day, my family, friends as well as each day’s Blessings. Happy Belated Thanksgiving Everyone. Be Blessed because you are Blessed. Blessings Always, Mtetar
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Thankful for all the things going well each moment. I’m also thankful for the unconditional love of my family and the many wonderful people I have met along the way
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Lesley, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia and it just so happened that a much loved Australian cricketer passed away on thanksgiving and 5 minutes after hearing the news, I had an MRI on my brain, which made it a very intense day. But Phillip Hughes death has made people all around the world stop and be thankful and smell the roses. Even Elton John paid a tribute to him. I am so thankful for the medical team I have and the treatments which have so far given me an extra 7 years. Actually, make that an extra 20 years thanks to some surgery. Some days can be pretty intense for me as it’s hard being a mum to two young kids when you have a life threatening, chronic medical condition but as much as they can fight and refuse to even put their shoes away, we can huddle together as a family and share stories and build a colourful tapestry together. Life will always have it;s ups and downs and the darker the shadow, the brighter the light. Happy thanksgiving xx Rowena
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Amoung many things, I’m thankful for honest, fun adventure blogs so I can ‘see’ the world from the safety of home. 🙂
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Happy thanksgiving!
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What a lovely post. I wish we did this in he UK: I’m thankful to have supportive parents, a supportive good humoured slightly bonkers bloke and two roofs over my head which ever one I choose to live under. I’m also glad I’ve finally got a neurologist keeping a eye on my over all health. Happy Thanksgiving! x
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I agree with the majority of your post and these are all definitely things of which to be thankful. However, to state that “without our health, almost everything else is meaningless.” I know plenty of people who fight cancer and other debilitating diseases and myself, I live every day with Spina Bifida. And all of our lives have meaning, yes even those of us who aren’t healthy. Just my two cents that when confronted with bad health, life can not only have meaning, but more so I believe, because it teaches us to not take anything for granted because one day it will end.
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I was thinking the exact same thing when I wrote this…. I guess it didn’t come across that way. I was thinking more about if one of us, Darren, Athena, or I had a terminal illness, nothing else would seem as important in my life. That would be all that mattered.
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That is very true. That sentiment I completely agree with. 🙂
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented:
List what you are thankful for–it helps to create a more positive outlook.
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I think it’s great you Americans have thanksgiving. Here in Britain we spend too much time focussing on the negative aspects of our lives rather than what we have to thank people for. Even at this moment I am thinking about work tomorrow and dreading it. I’m not doing what I truly want with my career but I have fantastic support from my girlfriend and family. Hopefully with their continued help, I can find the path I want to lead and be happy doing what I love doing.
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Reblogged this on myImmanuel and commented:
Inspired to travel? Ambitious destinations on your vision board? You will enjoy reading the posts of blogger Lesley Carter! Check her out!
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Thankful for grace, God, life, and the many amazing things He does that make life enjoyable, including the people (family, friends, colleagues, etc.), places, and projects I encounter that create great opportunities for sharing, encouragement, and making the world around us a better place:-) Appreciate the posts! God bless you and your family!
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What wonderful things to be thankful for! Mine are similar: supportive family and friends, a steady job that I enjoy, my health, and home 🙂
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I’ll mention one more thing you may want to be thankful for — for being born in this country and not in a place like Russia, which is what happened to me:( or Africa, or Afghanistan, etc. You got the picture. Just joking — kind of. Happy Thanksgiving!
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I’m Canadian and although it’s not the same as being born in Russia, we struggle with our own issues living in the US under work visas. It’s our choice though so I try not to fuss about it too much.
Are you in the US now?
Lesley
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Yes, I am a naturalized American citizen who came to the U.S. at the age of 39 with about 10 English words to her disposal. Needless to say, it was a rather rocky beginning :).
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I am Thankful for my child that every day makes me greatly happy, for my husband I love and who loves me, for my job and our health! And thanks for your question 😉
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Leslie, what a wonderful post. You are so blessed to be able to do what you do and to have the support and love that you have. One does not have to know you, to see the gratitude you have for your life. You show your gratitude each time we see pictures of all the wonderful places you have been to. Thank you, for sharing your life and your enjoyment for life with us all. May you and your family have a blessed Christmas and holiday, as well as an even better 2015.
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I couldn’t agree more – you got them all.
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