November 26th, 2009 | 13 comments | Unfiltered

I have a lot to be thankful for, really.

I think just about every blogger I know will write this same post, so I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.  Big, fat kudos to Colby for using a format that I can handle today. I don’t have enough brain power to form coherent sentences, it’s a travel day, so SUE ME.

What exactly am I thankful for?

My Family. Duh. These people rock my world, one day at a time. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. In our little circle, we say I love you and thank you and have manners and appreciate each other multiple times a day – so today is no different, except that I should be ultra-obnoxious about how thankful I am to have them in my life. SO THANKS FAM!

My friends. And because I live both online and offline, I’m not separating into categories because there are some people on this list that I’ve never met in real life that are the best friends that money could buy. There have been a lot of people introduced into my life in the last year, and I’d like to take this time to recognize them – IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER so don’t get all uptight if you’re not in a desirable position on this list. I’m thankful for: Jamie, Jenny, Ben, Andrew, Elysa, Ryan, Nisha, Tim, Scott, John, Mari, Gregg, Armano, Dave, Lauren, Nate, Derek, David, Nicole, Colby, Grace, and I’m sure a shit ton of you that I’ve forgotten. So, that’s that.

My Mentors. I’ve written tribute posts to these fine people so I’ll keep it to a list and not get mushy about why they are so fantastic. Thank you Adam, Aaron, Penelope, Alan, and anyone else who has helped me get to where I am today.

My colleagues. You know who you are and most of you probably don’t read this, so I’ll leave it at this: Thank you Weber Shandwick Chicago for teaching me fabulous things about myself, the industry, and our little world on St. Clair. I love working with you and look forward to being there for a looooong time.

Skinny Vanilla Lattes. I don’t drink coffee often but when I do – these bad boys get me through the day.

Public Transportation. I never thought I’d enjoy public transportation so much. Not only are you reliable, cheap, and easy, but you have also relieved me of the need to have a car in the city. And for that, I am forever grateful. Well, until I need to drive somewhere. Then I’ll be cussing you. But until then, you’re fabulous.

My MacBook. If this computer could talk, I’m not sure what it would say. This bad boy has seen my deepest thoughts before the rest of the world, and has been everywhere with me since I bought it in 2007. Your hard drive crashed once, and so did your LCD – and I’m sorry for the abuse. Thank you for being here, to keep me connected to everyone everywhere. I love you.

Mindcrushes. Most of my mindcrushes are up in the friends category but seriously – you people keep my brain alive. Bloggers, Tweeters, colleagues, friends – doesn’t really matter where I find you, I like to keep you all around so my brain can be actively engaged in tremendous ideas and conversation. Thank you for being here.

The rest of you. If you read but don’t comment, thank you for reading. I’m glad you’re here. If I forgot you in one of the categories above, don’t take it personally, I have a short attention span and that list of friends was nowhere near complete – so you probably aren’t alone. If you’re here, you’re important to me, so I’m thankful for you.

Tell me, what are you thankful for?