As much as I like to bitch about the wrongs in this world, and the people who just plain piss me off, I am thankful for many things. The problem is a blog about sunshine and rainbows just doesn’t garner as much traffic as one about constant complaining.

Sorry, that’s just the way world works.

I’m actually thankful for a lot of things. Contrary to the name of my blog or one of my categories, I am a glass full kind of person. I am thankful for many things this year not the least of which is this blog. Redhead Ranting has opened up a world to me that I would have never imagined five years ago. I have met great friends, enjoyed some wonderful opportunities and learned I had talents I never knew existed.

My kids

Of course I am thankful for my kids. That just goes without saying. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be spending each and every day writing, marketing, promoting, begging, groveling and all the other things writers do to get noticed in an age when everyone can be a writer. My kids have taught me all about humility. I used to think I knew a lot, now I know I know nothing compared to them. I am thankful they have shared with me their music (not really) and their fashion (I miss the 80s). Okay, I’m not so thankful about their music or their fashion but I am thankful they share these things with me. I could have been a mother whose kids didn’t want to be around her, I’m not. The kids like me, and that means a lot to me.

My exes

I spend a lot of time making fun of my ex husbands, or at least making each of them the brunt of the jokes around these parts. The truth is I am proud of my relationship with both of my ex husbands. We have all worked very hard to raise these kids and so far it’s working out pretty well. Sure, they can piss me off (one more than the other), but ultimately they are pretty decent dads who want to do the best by their kid. I’m so thankful for that.

My readers

I really mean other bloggers but that sounds funny to say “my bloggers” cuz obviously you can’t own other bloggers and saying it that ways sounds like that is what I am trying to say. I am thankful for all the wonderful bloggers I get to read each week. So many of them are writing books and that is so encouraging. I started a blog as a way to write my book. As some of you know I have left the book on the back burner for a bit while I work on silly things like earning a living. I’d love to be one of those women who figures out how to do it all but so far I haven’t. Until that happens I will live vicariously through all my wonderful blogging friends who are putting out books and writing awesome blogs. You people inspire me to write better and I love you all for that. And, because you are all so damn funny.

My friend

I’ve met a great many wonderful people on the internet in my years of blogging. If I were to take a sentence or two to talk about all the great people I have met since I started blogging I (and you) would be here until Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa. We don’t want to do that because we all have turkeys to cook and homes to clean before relatives arrive. Some of us have some shopping to do too so we don’t want to keep you here longer than necessary. However, I do want to take a little time to share my gratitude for having a friend like Cardiogirl. Many of you know that Kelly is the other half of Tribal Blogs. She is the quiet one, behind the scenes, busy checking my spelling and adding H3 headings to my blog posts. She is the one who makes sure everything works and when it doesn’t she figures out how to force it to work. Kelly is the kind of person who will solve the unsolvable problem because she doesn’t know it can’t be solved. She is like a pit bull who gets its jaw on something and refuses to give it up.

Kelly is also the one who understands me, sometimes more than I do myself. She is the peanut butter to my jelly, the yin to my yang, the milk to my Oreo, the Diet to my Coke, the cheese to my macaroni (Kraft), the Captain to my Tennille, the Scooby to my Doo….you get the picture. Kelly is the one who ‘gets’ me, flaws and all. And for that I am so incredibly thankful I can’t even begin to say. The friendship I have with Kelly has had a huge impact on my life, one that I can’t even begin to quantify (even though I know Kelly would like me to be able to measure it somehow). My friendship with Kelly has been a game changer and I can only hope that each of you has a friend as wonderful as Kelly.

I would love to have you share what you are thankful for in the comment section and I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with friends and family.