Thankful

My 6 year old son David has a school project that's due at the end of each month. It's something that he works on at home sometimes with help from us if he needs it. These usually have a theme and of course this month's theme was Thanksgiving. Every day in November David had to write two things he is thankful for in a journal. At first it was difficult for him to get in the habit of writing in it, and difficult for me to remember to remind him. At this age, any homework for him is also homework for me. But it only took about a week for him to consistently remember to write in it on his own and the more he did it, the more he seemed to enjoy the process of writing and bringing to mind all the things he's glad to have in his life. I got a kick out of what he's written so far, and so with his permission I've written them here, spelling errors and all:

I am thankful for my famuly and my home.
I am thankful for my Legos and my K'nex.
I am thankful for birthdays and food.
I am thankful for drinks and toys.
I am thankful for ise crem and I am also thankful for trees.
I am thankful for fish and grass.
I am thankful for watr and sand.
I am thankful for my friends and whole milk.
I am thankful for birds and lemonade.
I am thankful for darey prodx and pizza. (me too!)
I am thankful for ham and mashd potato.
I am thankful for land and sea.
I am thankful for clocks and muusic.
I am thankful for cats and dogs.
I am thankful for lemons and baskits.
I am thankful for Pokemon and peckoks.
I am thankful for pigs and paradis. (reminds me of a Jimmy Buffet song)
I am thankful for Miss Hazzalton and Misses Graval. (his teachers)
I am thankful for church and gym.
I am thankful for school and light.
I am thankful for rice and chicin.
I am thankful for juice and cake. (mmm...cake)
I am thankful for mackarony and chees and bred. (absolutely)
I'm thankful for chereos and cinamin tost crunch.
I'm thankful for soup and my cats.

All I can say is, that kid likes his food. You wouldn't know it by how much he fusses at dinnertime, but then you'll notice he did not say he was thankful for "mom's experimental chicken dishes with weird sauces and spices". What I also found interesting was that some of the things were obvious associations (land and sea), while others were less so (soup and cats). He's probably heard me making too many jokes about how I'd gladly cook up the cats if I had no other means of feeding the family.

Mostly I'm thankful for my family, my home and our health. There are many subcategories but those are the big ones. And of course I'm thankful for "mashd potato". How could you not be thankful for that?

What are you most thankful for this year?

My Top Ten Reasons to Run

#10 It's good for the heart. You can lower your blood pressure quite a bit by running regularly and that ticker will last a hell of a lot longer if it gets the workout it needs.

#9 Makes your bones stronger. The impact from running increases bone density which is crucial as we age, especially for women. Recent findings support that lower impact exercises, while helping your heart, don't do much for those bones.

#8 Lowers stress. I can speak from personal experience on this one. If I don't get my regular runs in I get crabby and I don't sleep as well. And no matter how I feel prior to a run, I ALWAYS feel better after one. Always.

#7 You can eat more of what you want. I enjoy food and because I run I need to consume more calories than the average woman my age. That said, I have no idea how many calories I consume each day. I know I eat enough to feel good and I don't put on weight, so that's enough for me!

#6 It's good for the kids, too! Kids today are at high risk for obesity because of increasing sedentary lifestyles, but children who witness their parents taking part in physical sports are much more likely to follow suit and get the exercise their little bodies need.

#5 A good excuse for some alone time. Who couldn't use a little time out of the house alone? I know for myself that even a few minutes away from the demands of being a mom of little kids really refreshes me. It's not at all the same as being alone in the house or getting time to watch a show or something. This feels like good, quality time that's spent making me a better person.

#4 You can wear cool things like this. Well, not if you're a guy, I guess.

#3 It makes you feel like a kid again. Nothing brings you back faster to childhood than running around. You might not be as limber as a ten year old, but you'll find with some effort you can be a hell of a lot faster than one!

#2 Racing is fun. If you can run three miles, you can run a race. And the opportunities for races grows every year and it's a great way to meet new people and put yourself to the test. Also, free snacks afterward!!

#1 You will get to know yourself a lot better. Running strips you down and builds you back up. You learn a lot about your inner nature when you push yourself physically, and running is a sport that demands much of both your body and your mind.

Okay, so there's my two cents. So what are your reasons for (or against!) running?