As we enter into the month of November I’m borrowing from David Letterman and making my top ten list of those things for which I am most thankful since it is the month of Thanksgiving (my granddaughters least favorite holiday) and Election Day.

10. I am thankful that my parents have lived long enough to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. My father promised my mother that if they made 70 years he would sing her a love song in church. He sang her three.

9. I am thankful to live in a place where, from my window, I can see bald eagles fly and where the Olympic Mountains often look close enough to touch.

8. I am thankful for the bird’s songs; the lion’s roar and the monkey’s screech that I hear every morning upon waking. (I live by the zoo)

7. I am thankful that I live surrounded by wonderful neighbors. Over the years we have become friends as well as neighbors and are a very close-knit group. We have get- togethers on a regular basis.

6. I am thankful for my good health and the good health of my family.

5. I am thankful for the wonderful women who work with me in my business. It is a pleasure knowing that I have hired the right people who do their jobs with pride and professionalism.

4. I am thankful that I, like my family and friends, was born in America, which continues to be a place of opportunity and freedom.

3. I am thankful for my son, daughter, their spouses and my granddaughters who also live in Seattle. I am so blessed to have my whole family living nearby.

2. I am thankful for my husband who puts up with me and loves me no matter what. I’m also thankful that he plays golf on Saturdays and gives me at least 5 hours all to myself.

1. And finally, I am thankful for my grandmother and other women like her who marched for women’s right to vote in the early 1900’s. Without their commitment and efforts, our daughters and granddaughters would not be able to vote this month.

This top ten list has been a good exercise for me. It made me realize how much I have to be thankful for as I prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and friends. Take time to remember those things for which you are thankful. You might be surprised by the length of your own Thankful List.

-2004 Annie Davis