Thankful List

The list of things I am thankful for has evolved over the years. And while I have always tried to see the big picture in life and put family and friends at the top of my list, occasionally ice cream sundaes, puffy stickers and pizza came in a close second. I am still that little kid at heart, but my smelly, puffy sticker collection is no longer. Now, my list includes the collections of homemade gifts I’ve received from my kids and my husband, sand from the beaches of our adventures, and medals from finish lines I’ve crossed. I look at these treasures every day — they fill my office — and I am seriously overcome with a true sense of wealth.

This feeling of wealth stems from a story of my dad. On his 60th birthday, we all surprised him in Mexico. “We all” included his close friends and family. We had given him the trip, and he has asked every single one of us to join him. We were all armed with reasons we couldn’t…and they were well thought out. So when he arrived at the resort and saw us all standing there, he was overcome, crying, and in shock. He pulled me aside and said, “Summer, for a second I thought I had died. Everyone I lovde was there and they told me they couldn’t be there. At that moment I felt like the wealthiest man in the world…because of the love of my friends and family.” I have never forgotten that. Thank you dad.

With that in mind, I thought it’d be good to start my list for this year. Here are all the wonderful things I am thankful for…

• My family. All of them, the ones that I get to snuggle with every single day and those I don’t get to see as often. I am lucky to have them in my life.

• My friends. These amazing humans have been a huge part of my life adventure…some for decades and others more recently. I need these amazing women in my life as a story is only really great when you have someone to share it with.

• My running shoes (and my lungs). I completely get it when people tell me they can’t stand running. I get it that it is easier for some because of their body type or cardiovascular capacity. But I am damn glad I can do it. Running has been my life-blood, my meditation, my problem-solver, my sleep aid, my psychologist, my dance partner, and my singing audience for 23 years now. With my running shoes, I have seen hundreds of cities on five different continents at my own pace. And my lungs, well, they allow me to do it at any elevation.
• The finish line. For the first two-and-a-half decades of my life, my focus was on touching a wall. There wasn’t a finish line to push through, it was a wall in which to jam your fingers into hard and deliberately. And I loved to race people into that wall. But thankfully, I found running and discovered the magnificent world of the finish line. I could see the finish line well in advance. I could even touch people around me, if I was that person. But most important was that I could soak up MY finish line. I always shout that to people coming into the finish of any running race, “Go get your finish line!” It’s a true moment of achievement, and we don’t allow ourselves enough celebration in life. I LOVE my finish line. At the 2014 Boston Marathon finish line, my emotions took over the moment I turned onto Boylston. My finish line of 2013 was amazing and then everything happened. I needed to come back in 2014 and take back my finish line. On that final stretch, all of my emotions flooded out. I tried to video some of the finish because I knew I wouldn’t be able to describe it or soak it up the way I wanted to. Those are moments in life that I treasure and for which I will forever be thankful.

• Spontaneity in life. Late-night movies on a Thursday. Breakfast for dinner. Unplanned camping. I am fairly convinced this stems from my rigid schedule in my youth. Whenever my pool broke down and we didn’t have practice, it turned into a mini-Christmas for me and my family, specifically my dad. I love the unplanned fun moments. I remember some epic college moments on random Tuesday nights with a “few” beers. Unplanned but much needed. And, I am thankful for all of my people who are up for the spontaneous with me. Game ON!
• Good food, Good conversation, Good wine (or whiskey). I am in awe of those who can throw ingredients together and create a masterpiece of taste! Seriously, I want to be that person, but I have resolved that my duty is to eat that wonderful food and celebrate the chef who can. I am thankful for the positive and constructive conversation of friends…you know, the kind that makes you feel like you gained knowledge or information or an ab workout from laughing so hard. And I LOVE a yummy bottle of wine with friends…or very good, smooth whiskey. It’s like a warm hug from the inside out.
• Airplanes. Odd…I know. Especially for someone who travels as much as I do, but I am grateful for them. I have been lucky enough to fly all over this magical world (and yet I still have a bucket list of places I want to experience.) And I am lucky enough to have a husband who helps me REALLY experience the culture of each city and kids who are game for the adventure — Nepal, Iceland, Prague, Isle of Skye….and so many more. I am thankful that there is an airplane ready to take us there.
• My oddities. In my freshman year high school drama class, we all had to stand in a circle and say our names and then something about ourselves that stood out; an oddity to help our classmates remember us. All I could think of, and I had many to choose from, was “boney shoulders”. Yes, my shoulders were swimmer shoulders but they weren’t yet bulky and muscular. They were just extremely broad and very skinny and boney. My best friend, Heather McClurg, and I started to giggle. Boney shoulder Summer was my new title. I have large hands that can palm a basketball. I have size 11 feet (which isn’t as odd anymore). I had the knobbiest knees in the world, and when I made the awesome decision to wear leggings, they looked like strange toothpicks. But now, I can find reasons for all the oddities, and I can celebrate my weirdness as much of these things helped me achieve greatness in my sport.
• Imperfection. Oh shit. Life would be so f’ing boring if it were perfect. Am I proud of every decision in my life…No. But would I change my path…Hell No. I would be kinder to the boys who gave me flowers or who showed they liked me when I was younger. I was so shy and awkward inside that I didn’t know what to do, and I never thanked them properly. For that, I am sorry. But the hiccups of life are what give us depth and teach us perseverance. I am so good at being imperfect and it is something I will continue to teach by example to my kids.

The quick add-on list…or the little things that make me simply smile:

• Mascara and a good eyelash curler
• Soft lighting
• My mouthguard. (I clinch)
• Sunday morning sleepins
• A Bills Win
• Snow on Christmas morning
• Bacon, but when someone else makes it and cleans it up.
• Slowly sharing desert with my hubby.
• Delicious food in random cities.
• When my jeans fit perfectly.
• That my husband still finds me sexy.
• Brett Dennon in the morning
• Pearl Jam at night
• A body of water…anywhere.
• Early cancer detection…4 times and counting.
• The awesome generation that watch Figure It Out
• The 400 IM, for making everything else in life a piece of cake.
• Salt and Chocolate, together.
• Writers who continue to make me laugh and cry all in the same chapter/scene.
• Kind humans
• Dogs who sleep on their back…it’s forever funny.

It’s a long list, I know, but I feel like when you’re looking for the positives in life you have a lot to be thankful for :) Celebrate whatever makes you happy and take a moment to realize your thankful things. Enjoy Thanksgiving!

Cheers sweet friends,

Summer