Annual List of Thankfulness...

So I'm sorely lagging in this Thanksgiving post. Get over it. I've got a teething kid, a snotty kid, and a furry kid who eats my heels. I'm busy ;)

We had a great Thanksgiving (aside from Carrie tending to a major flooding emergency at the mountain house!). I ran in the Turkey Trot at the crack of dawn, beating my previous 5k time by over two minutes! The boys and Remy were there to cheer me on, so that put a little pep in my step. After the race, it was home to watch the Macy's parade (my very favorite tradition), sip hot chocolate, and peruse the Black Friday ads (in which I had absolutely no desire to participate in). After family time on the couch, we headed to Matt's for a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Please don't ask Nick how his experimental Chicken Mole turned out. Capped off by a night in front of the firepit, it was the perfect day.

Which brings me to my annual list of things that I am thankful for. Honestly, I can't remember if I do this annually or not. I'm lucky that I remember my own middle name these days. Regardless, here's the list for 2012; in no particular order...

1. Starbucks. If I do do this list annually, I'm sure this is a staple.
2. The DSW clearance rack. Did I mention the part about the dog and the shoes?
3. Grandparents. Or Nick and I would never get a date night.
4. Dance. Which I'm hoping will once again become a big part of my life.
5. Wine.
6. The Matchbox, Hot Wheels and Lego companies. For constantly giving me a reason to shout expletives.

And in all seriousness, my family, friends and beautiful children, who I love more than life itself.

Stop the Stigma...

My heart is broken. As a mother of two young children, and as a human being, I am distraught, disgusted, confused, and angered at the events that took place in Connecticut yesterday, as are people from around the globe. When I first heard what had happened in the late afternoon, I immediately got into my car, drove to Brixon's school, and awoke him from his nap to give him the biggest hug I have ever given him. We went to Starbucks, shared a cookie, and I silently thanked God the rest of the night how thankful I was that I was able to embrace my children. No parent should ever have to face the loss of their child; especially when they are in the safety and comfort of their elementary school.
So where to we go from here? Stricter gun control? More concealed weapons? Home-school all of our children, and stop going to malls, movie theatres and churches? There are no concrete answers to guarantee that this incessant and inexplicable violence will end. But what we can do is learn to recognize the early signs of mental illness, and make treatment widely available. We need to disassociate the negative stigma that often accompanies mental illness, and recognize that it is a disease. Mental illness needs to be treated, just as we treat cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Every massacre that has occurred in our once safe havens has been committed by an individual diagnosed with a mental illness.These individuals have either never received any form of treatment, or stopped treatment. Parents, siblings, friends...if you know someone who is sick, help them get the assistance that they need. Please, stop the stigma and stop the violence.