Patch Is Thankful This Thanksgiving

Have you taken time to count your blessings? Thanksgiving is not just about turkey, football and a day off to plan your Black Friday shopping. It is a day to reflect. At Patch, we are most thankful for you, our readers, and we'd like to invite you to let us know what you are most grateful for in your lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful to be working in the same field in which I spent *mumble* years studying. I'm thankful for the most easygoing stepdaughter in town, the goodnight hugs and the "I love yous." I'm thankful in advance that the apple pie I'm planning on baking will turn out all right. And of course, I most thankful for my family, health, home and my one friend. –

As always, I'm thankful for loving family and funny friends–especially my supportive boyfriend. But this year, I'm especially thankful for a job in my career field, a really awesome puppy named Bentley, red wine and good food. I'm also thankful for anyone who reads my columns on Patch and will be thankful when the year is over and I break my pescatarianism and eat bacon. ­–

This Thanksgiving, I'm oddly grateful for a year that I'll always look back on as a kind of perfect storm. After an unimaginable combination of challenges and opportunities, I was forced to recenter, find my inner strength and focus on what is really important, including my wonderfully supportive husband and our families, amazing friends, experiencing the world, and a willingness to take things one day at a time. On a less philosophical note, I'm thankful for my lime green beach cruiser and Ranger–my favorite dog of the unspecified poodle variety. ­–

In these turbulent times, I'm particularly thankful for my loving husband and two wonderful feline children and especially grateful to have a beautiful, stable home. Born activist that I am, I'm appreciative that the 99 percent appear finally to be waking up and protesting the income inequality that threatens to destroy our political system and freedoms. –

I am very grateful for my husband, who is the best man I know, and two amazing children, who rock my world.  I am also so fortunate to live in San Diego and will forever be thankful to call this place home! –

“I’m grateful for nature. Feeling the wind ripple over my face and clothes. Smelling the refreshing air after a strong rain. Discovering a flower that has just opened – so delicate and new ­– and watching a sun set over the ocean as it transforms a blue sky into wild reds and oranges. I’m grateful for the people I love who share nature on this planet with me.” –

I have a very long list of reasons to be grateful, but the one thing (technically, it's two) I am most thankful for is my family and their and my continued good health. ­–

It's been a tough year for my family and friends, with multiple deaths, including two completely unexpected ones. I am thankful for my grandmother Shirley “Pau Pau” Fong for setting an example for all the courageous and independent women in my family. I am in gratitude to Uncle Victor “Bach Bach” Wong for helping raise my boyfriend. I appreciate my boyfriend’s Nellie “Nana” Cuadraz for lovingly making an abundance of homemade blankets and Raggedy Ann dolls for her family. And I am grateful to have known Patrick Strobel who helped teach me the importance of quality of life. One of the quotes I often think of is: “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.” I am thankful for this fact and for my family and friends who have supported me and continue to help me celebrate and enjoy life.­ ­–

I'm thankful for many things. Those that immediately come to mind are my spectacular boyfriend, my family, the ability to run a business that I truly love and my friends. Without them, anything I would do in this life has very little meaning. Happy Thanksgiving! –

I'm thankful for all the blessings I have in my life including my family, friends, and my amazing and steadfast love that makes me smile everyday.  I'm thankful for the incredible freedoms we have in this country and most of all for God's never ending love. –

Five fashion trends to be thankful for: 1. Boots. Extending my sparse wardrobe from Summer to Winter without missing a step. 2. Stores like H & M, Gap, and Target. They keep make my style cutting-edge without breaking the bank. 3. All the small boutique owners in San Diego. These businesses not only stay open, but they even open second locations. Without them I wouldn't have anything to write about. 4. Platform heels. I have to wear heels to do my job. Thanks for taking it easy on my back and helping me to walk without falling. 5. Intimacy Boutique. Fitting me in the proper bra. And therefore keeping my girls up when my spirits are down. –

As always, I'm grateful for good health, a typically positive demeanor and the simple, daily comforts that are often too easy to take for granted. I sit on the board of Girls Think Tank, an organization that empowers the community to advance basic dignity; there, I collaborate with displaced San Diegans. It's sobering to know that many of them go from sharing bright and intelligent ideas during our meetings to taking refuge in the warmest nooks they can find on our streets. I'm in awe of their courage and will. I guess I'm thankful for quite a bit this year. –

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