So much to be thankful for

I love Thanksgiving. For a while, when I was a teenager, it was the most fun holiday of them all. My grandmother would have all of her kids to her house, and all twelve of us cousins would have a blast playing together. And to add to the fun, my sister, my cousin S and I usually got to spend the night before Thanksgiving at Grandma's house, "helping" her prepare. In reality, it was like a really fun sleepover party, and I treasured those times.

I've been thinking a lot lately about just how much I have to be thankful for. Last Thanksgiving, I was just a week away from becoming a mother, and I thought I couldn't get any happier. But this year I get to celebrate my daughter's first Thanksgiving. We're going to be at my brother's house, where he also has a baby celebrating the holiday for the first time -- M is just three months younger than the Cheeto.

And best of all, present this year in the most magical of forms will be two new children, who will celebrate their first Thanksgivings in 2007. My brother's wife is pregnant, and so am I. This time, they're going first -- J's baby is due in early June, while mine is due in late July. Four cousins, all within two years. Could any family have more to be thankful for?

Of course, since I am only approximately 3 minutes pregnant, I'm not telling anyone in real life except for family and the very closest of my friends. But I figure nobody's reading this blog anyway, so I can blab all I like.