Non-Facebook Thankfulness

I don't know what's going on where you live, but in my area of the world, people ALL OVER Facebook are doing one post for every single day listing what they're thankful for...all the way until Thanksgiving.  I LOVE the idea.  Who doesn't need to be reminded of all their amazing blessings in life that we probably all take for granted?  I know I need a daily reminder of how blessed I am.  But, I feel like as a blogger, I drive people insane with my posts.  Daily status updates whenever I've written a new blog post.  Regular status updates when I just feel like telling all my Facebook peeps something that's going on in my life.  Then, this year, I've decided to be a part of my local Relay for Life committee...so sometimes my Facebook turns into a "This is what Relay is doing for those of you that care" kind of thing.  So add a post every single day about what I'm thankful for?  People would be blocking me left and right (if they already haven't).  Instead, I thought I'd do some blog posts about the things I'm thankful for.
Today, I'm thankful for my family.  For those of you that don't know, I have a HUGE family.  Both of my parents are one of 6 siblings.  On my mom's side alone, there are 35 of us that gather for any holiday (and we'll use any excuse we can to get together).  On my dad's side there are 29 of us.  Holy geez.  That's a lot of birthdays to remember, gifts to buy, places to be and phone calls to make on a weekly basis.  But let me break it down for you:

The Thomas'.
These people.  Fifteen blog posts all about them wouldn't be enough to talk about them all.  Or describe how much they mean to me.  My mom and her brothers and sisters all live within a 10 mile radius of each other.  This means a lot of unexpected popping in each other's house and time spent with our family.  My cousins and I grew up together and are extremely close.  I almost think of all of them as my little brother and sisters.  Dayna, Mark, Amanda and I were like the Four Musketeers.  Amanda and I picked on Mark and Dayna.  Mark and Dayna accepted it.  It was a great relationship.  We played and we pretended and we all got in trouble together.  I can't think of many great childhood memories that didn't have one of those three in it.  Amanda, Dayna and I roomed together in college.  Although we're growing up and going our separate ways, I am thankful for every moment we got to spend with one another.  It made me who I am today. 

This picture is perfectly us.  Ridiculous in every way.

And then you have the rest of my cousins.  They're loud.  They're wild.  They give me a headache on Christmas when we're all in one room and we can't send the boys and their energy outside.  But they make me laugh.  And they can be really sweet.  And my family wouldn't be complete without all of them.  I am thankful that my mom has so many brothers and sisters and has given me a family like this one to grow up with.  It may not be normal, but I can't imagine life any other way.  I'm thankful that I have such a large support base.  I know that if I have a problem or need to call any of them up at whatever time of night just to talk, I can.  I'm thankful for my aunts, who are kind of like my second moms.  I'm thankful for my Meemaw,  who is beauty and class and determination and a homemaker and a little bit of attitude all rolled up in a tiny little package.  She is a wonderful example of the wife, mother and homemaker I aspire to be (And this is where I stop.  I'm telling you.  I could ramble on for DAYS about these people).

The Parretts.
Now, dad's family is a different story.  While dad also has 5 brothers and sisters, they're scattered throughout the country.  They live in Missouri, Florida and parts of Kentucky.  So I don't get to see them very often.  But when we do, watch out.  These people are ca-razy.  When they get together, it's an all-out giggle fest, sibling rivalry, eat-til-I'm-huge event.  My Granny makes fried chicken that I swear is laced with crack--she just won't admit it.  I am thankful to have a family that doesn't see each other often, but can pick up a conversation like we just spoke yesterday and it's never awkward.  My dad and his siblings are hilarious to watch when they're together.  My aunts and uncle are ridiculously competeitive.  They like to tell stories about the others getting in trouble and their adventures as military brats.  There's never a dull moment with the Parretts.  Not one.  Out of all of them though, I am super close to my cousin Emily.  We're only 6 months apart...which wasn't always a good thing.  Growing up, we wanted to spend tons of time together.  We would travel to each other's homes to have slumber parties....and the night would always end with one of us being mad at the other.  Thankfully, we have outgrown such childish arguments and talk at least once a week.  She's hilarious and snarky and secretly, her "tell it like it is" attitude is something I envy.  We were in each other's weddings and I hope our friendship continues long into our old lady years. 

I'm thankful I have family that I can talk to, rely on, share secrets with.  I realize that so many people aren't blessed with large families or even much of a family at all.  So, whether you're a Thomas or a Parrett, I'm thankful for YOU.