What are YOU thankful for?

It seems unreal to me that already it's November, and today is Thanksgiving. It feels like only last week it was January and we were ringing in the New Year. For the past week or so, I have had my kids work on writing a Thanksgiving paragraph telling what they're really thankful for. Some of the paragraphs obviously were a little more material than others (I'm thankful for my Wii!!!!) but for the most part the kids did a great job. So, it got me to thinking. As I sit this holiday season, what am I truly thankful for?

I think back over the course of the last year, and I'm amazed at how much as changed. I'm amazed that I survived my first year with third grade. I'm amazed that I lost 23 pounds. I'm amazed at how much I've learned, how many people have entered (and exited) my life, and I'm amazed at how much I've changed.

When I look back on the year, I am of course thankful for my family and friends. I am of course thankful that I am gainfully employed and can afford to live and support myself. I'm thankful that I am able to take care of myself. I am thankful that I am able to sleep soundly at night because of the sheepdogs that sleep outside my door. But somewhere, pushing very close to the top of this list, I realized, that I am very thankful for Crossfit. I know it sounds a little over the top, but when I think of all these things that I'm thankful for, I realize that CrossFit has played a large role in many of these areas.

Now, obviously, my true flesh and blood family has nothing to do with CrossFit. I will always been thankful for them, and they of course have nothing to do with CrossFit. But, what about my friends and my adoptive family? CrossFit has allowed me to find my adoptive parents (Lt. Col. Dan and Susan) who are amazingly supportive. I have been in some rough spots lately and they have taken the time to support me in the best way they can. Without CrossFit, I never would have had the opportunity to have them in my life. And what about my friends? The only friends I have in my life are not people I have met at CrossFit, but I'll be frank, the people I have met at CrossFit are some of my best friends. Over the course of the last year, and especially the last few months, I have fallen face down into the mud on several ocassions. When I've thought I couldn't pick myself up and keep going, my friends at CFOT were right there to pull me out of the muck and help me. Always ready with hugs and helping hands, these people have shown their true colors and they are wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to have in my life. And let's not forget that without CFOT I would never have had the reason to post up this blog and make a whole group of online friends. Sort of cheesey? Perhaps, but I look forward to reading comments and hearing from these people everyday as well. They have been following my life and supporting me the best they can, often from very far away. Talk about powerful! CrossFit has done all of this.

Not to mention, those attitudes that I've learned, and the things about me that have changed over the last year are all the result of CrossFit. Without CrossFit I never would have lost weight. Without CrossFit I would not have grown as strong as I have, both pysically and mentally. Without CrossFit I would not have found the strength in myself to be the person that I am now. This year has been a rough haul. But looking back, I'm glad I went through it. I've learned a lot about myself. What I can do, what I can't do, what I'm willing to deal with, and what I'm not. Because of CrossFit I am watching myself become the person I want to be, and that is a pretty powerful feeling.

I am thankful for my real family. I am thankful for my job, and my house, and all those sorts of things. But above many other things, I am thankful for CrossFit. I am thankful that everyday I have the opportunity to get together with a group of people who are as wonderful as they are. I am thankful to have such an amazing coach who pushes me everyday and is helping me be the best that I can be. Yes, CrossFit is an exercise program. It is a way to stay in shape. But it is so much more than that. CrossFit is a life changing program, and I am thankful that it has changed mine. Because of CrossFit and the people I've met, I've changed and learned things about myself, as well as the world around me. I'm thankful everyday that I've had those experiences. I wouldn't trade CrossFit or Jerry or the crew at CFOT for anything this world has to offer. That is the POWER of this program, and THAT is what I'm thankful for.

But what about you? What are YOU thankful for?