I am sitting here researching pie recipes for Thanksgiving. The house across the street has twinkling lights strung up over its windows. This week I'll drive out to my sister's place in PA, which feels like such a holiday thing to say, where a big group of 20+ of us will enjoy each other's company (and, hopefully, enjoy some delicious pie) and toast our gratitude and shower kisses on the babies.

I am an autumnal, wintry lady, one who feels most like herself when the leaves have turned and begun falling; when frozen sparkles have formed on car windshields and my scarves have formed a messy burst of colors on the floor of my coat closet. (Or, perhaps I just need to clean out my coat closet.) So this week and next, this line between one holiday and another, one season and another, has always felt like it was meant for me. I float through it, hug everyone a little tighter, and hurt my cheeks from smiling so much.

I have a crazy amount of things to be thankful for. That has always been the case, but it feels even more true this year. Yesterday I was speaking at a conference for students and stumbled over my words for a moment as I tried not to say "Well, I'm just a lucky person" while explaining my career path. Because, while I believe that's true, there's also work involved, and an attitude, and a required perspective. K. likes to enforce the Thanksgiving rule of everyone announcing one thing they're thankful for this year before we break bread, and if we do that this year, I will have too much to say and will have to skip my turn.

Plus, it's always hard to top my cousin J.'s answer from 2006-ish. "What am I thankful for this year?" She said. "One Tree Hill. It was a great season."

Let's see what show she invokes this year.

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