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Thanks. No really, Thanks.

By Gloria Diaz

Check out Gloria's Blog — Edge of Gloria!

michael_summers@fortwaynereader.com

Fort Wayne Reader

2016-11-07

Thanksgiving is nearly here. So, in an abrupt change from my Grumpy Cat mode, I will list some things I’m thankful for.

I’m thankful for my house. Yeah, it’s a dump, but it’s close to work and home. Thanks mom, for letting me have half of it. I’m thankful I live in an affordable city. It’s not super-swinging or exciting, but if you’re living here and paying $3000 a month for your rent/mortgage, you’re living in a dream house. On the coasts, you’d probably get a 300 square foot studio apartment.

I’m thankful for my dog, Daphne. At home, she is always by my side. I’m thankful for my cat, Summit. Even though she runs hot and cold, affectionate and hostile, just like her owner.

I’m thankful for Cedar Point. It’s my escape. If only I could bottle the feeling I get when I ride Millennium Force. It’s better than any drug or alcohol invented. I’m thankful that most of my hobbies are inexpensive. I’m into bracelet making now, and I’m able to buy charms on Amazon for cheap. And I make beads by recycling magazine pages.

I’m thankful I’m working. Four part-time jobs can be kind of a drag, but flexible hours are awesome.

I am thankful for Kara Bush, my stylist. She’s a curly girl too, and she knows how to work with curly hair. She’s made me love my hair for the first time in my life.
I’m thankful for Ipsy. Getting makeup every month for only $10 is amazing. I’m really digging The Balm eyeshadows, and I get to try normally pricey stuff for nearly free. That lip plumper from Urban Decay? Overrated. Or maybe my lips are big enough that I can’t see any noticeable enlargement.

I am thankful for my “new” Chevy Aveo. I keep it really clean, so it’s almost like a new car. I am thankful for Little Trees’s Black Ice car freshener. It smells like Drakkar Noir.

I am thankful for the opportunity to go to grad school and to get really good grades. Not that it matters, but I feel like I’m proving everyone in high school wrong—from the teacher who said, “I always have problems pronouncing you people’s names” (when I corrected him on the pronunciation of my last name) to the a-holes who bullied me, and teachers who never thought I was college material. Y’all can kiss my master’s-degree earning ass.

I’m thankful I finally got a novel written and I’m working on the second one.
I’m thankful I never had kids. I’m thankful I can go home to a house and not have some violent boyfriend/husband ask me where I’ve been and then slap me for hanging out with a friend. I’m thankful for my friends, who put up with my emotional crap. I am thankful for my therapist, Susan Tielker-Sharpe.

I am thankful for my ability to think outside the box, and figure out a way.
I am thankful I’m creative.
I am thankful I can wear what I want. I am thankful I don’t need a male relative by my side whenever I want to go out. I am thankful that I own vehicles, and I can get in my car and drive. I am thankful I can have a garden. I am thankful for all my five senses.

I am thankful my mother taught me how to read. I am thankful my father encouraged my interest in photography. I am thankful for computer technology, which allows me to make friends all over the world without leaving my house, to self-publish books, and the potential to make photo books. Even if no one else is interested, I can look at my book and say, “I made this.”

I am thankful that whenever I’m low and I’m struggling with my issues/problems, the universe somehow lets me know that I am appreciated.

I am thankful that I’m good at my jobs. I am thankful I have enough food to eat, a cozy place to sleep, and hot showers.

I am thankful that even though I feel poor sometimes, compared to a lot of other people (both in the U.S. and in the world) I am very fortunate and have a lot to be thankful for.

There’s other stuff too, but I’m saving that for next year’s first week of November FWR column.