Getting stuffed with stuffing and gratefulness

Isn’t Charlie Brown the greatest? Besides being these ridiculously insightful adult-appropriate cartoons, the holiday-themed specials make for fabulous half hour breaks amidst pumpkin carving on Halloween and tree-decorating after Thanksgiving dinner. (“A Charlie Brown Christmas” = CLASSIC. Not to jump the gun or anything…).

But, IT’S TIME, GUYS. It’s a week away – my tied-for-first favorite holiday of them all. WHO’S EXCITED?! (We all are). I like Charlie Brown’s approach: Be grateful for everything.

It’s probably overly cliché and drippingly sappy and exactly what we’d expect during that two-week radius when suddenly, the world gets nicer and more appreciative. But it’s so true. Today can be a Monday in the middle of summer or a Saturday in the heart of winter – we can be happy year-round by being grateful for all of the little and not-so-little things that line our paths every day. (There must be a Hallmark card for that.) 2013’s big bash of thanks is 8 days away, so I decided to pick 8 things to love today.

8 little things that I’m grateful for today:

1. The fresh hazelnut brew from the café near my Statistics class that totally made Wilson Intervals halfway interesting. My kick butt cup of joe had me stoked on life.
2. Tyrone from the Regional Rail train. He took our tickets on a weekday night and made us feel like we were about to fly first class or stay in a sweet hotel. “Where are you headed?” “Have a fantastic ride!” “We hope you enjoy your stay!” Like, OK Tyrone, you rock.
3. “I Lived” by OneRepublic. You’re friggin’ welcome. Now, this is a pass-along song. Boyfriend passed it to me – thanks a million to him for that – and now you must pass-along to people who enjoy good music. Ready, go.
4. Finance class. For as much as I whine and complain about it (my apologies to all who bear witness…), it challenges my thinking and opens my view to a whole new world of economic frenzy. Which, I gotta admit, is kinda really cool. I guess I’ll focus on capital structure and portfolio analysis a bit more as I enjoy my generic Cheerios and daily tea.
5. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Random, right? Actually, the Roommate and I caught a free show last night, and it was love at first sight. I now swear I was born in the wrong era, as 60’s music is so clearly better than today’s radio repeats. Hump Day Recommendation: “Who Loves You.” You’ve already heard “Grease” and “Sherry,” guaranteed.
6. Andrea. I’m grabbing brunch with her this morning, and I could not be more excited. She’s a hoot with an impeccable taste for food, style, and travel – a total package. And she is the absolute best example of what a Godmother should be. Holy moly has my faith grown tenfold because of her.
7. Ben & Jerry. Those guys did life right.
8. Being alive. I’m really grateful that I woke up this morning. With the possibilities of a whole today in front of me. Anything can happen – it’s a cool feeling, isn’t it?

This year will be the first year that I’m not with my own family; I’m traveling with Boyfriend to spend Turkey Thursday and Black Friday with his clan. It’s weird – it’ll be the first time I’m not having my nana’s stuffing. I could write fifteen gajillion posts on how ungodly fabulous anything is when whipped up by my nana and pop – it’s all really heaven sent. But I’ve heard rave reviews of Boyfriend’s family stuffing…let the stuff-off commence.

And lastly, let the words of Marcie ring clear in 8 days and always.

“But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that’s what they mean by ‘Thanksgiving,’ Charlie Brown.”

Be sure to get really stuffed on amazing omnoms and laugh a lot with awesome people and have an obnoxiously beautiful Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for everyone who takes a gander at Coming Up Roses every Hump Day, so THANK YOU.

I’d love to hear about your favorite moments from Turkey Day 2013 – email them to erica.ligenza@gmail.com, and we’ll see who had better stuffing.

lovelovelove,

E