I'm Thankful

I am writing this the day before Thanksgiving. I am racking my brain trying to come up with a unique but thoughtful thing to be thankful for. Every year, around the Thanksgiving table, our extended family is asked to volunteer one thing they are thankful for. Of course, there are a lot of the “standard” answers: friends, family, food.

Don’t get me wrong. We are all incredibly fortunate to have these as accepted and routine blessings. But, I still would like to dig a little deeper to find those deeply meaningful, sometimes unexpected things for which I can give thanks. Here are some possibilities:

1) I’m thankful that I listened to my patient’s parents and decided to start methylphenidate despite a somewhat cloudy diagnostic picture. He is doing so much better in school.

2) I’m thankful that I get to do a job that is constantly stimulating, rewarding, and challenging.

3) I’m thankful that my office has a window in it, so that I can watch raindrops and bright blue skies.

4) I’m thankful that my yoga teacher doesn’t make us do a crescent lunge twist for too long.

5) I’m thankful for Wii Active which allows me to exercise in the evening, at home, and still makes my quadriceps burn.

6) I’m thankful for a spouse who is also a physician who can understand some of the frustrations I bring home.

7) I’m thankful to be in primary care during a time when it is evolving and growing.

8) I’m thankful for the teachers who shaped my professional skills and knowledge.

9) I’m thankful for my writing which gives me an outlet for emotions, thoughts, experiences, and ponderings.

10) I’m thankful for my family’s health insurance and the certainty that we can get the care we need when we need it.

I hope your list of things to be thankful for is long and filled with unexpected, meaningful, and amazing items.