About a month ago I wrote a post titled “Three Things I Love in My Mouth” and got a lot of feedback on the blog and on FB.

Mine were kale, coffee, and gin. One I have daily, another several times a week, and the other never. (If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know which is which.)

So today, the Monday before the week that includes what many would consider to be the time of year for gratitude and generosity, I have been reflecting on what I am fortunate to have.

Here goes:

A United States Passport:

This simple document not only allows me to travel freely to almost any place on the planet but also is a sign of my citizenship of a country, despite its flaws and struggles, has afforded me tremendous opportunities based simply on where I was born, e.g., education, access to health care, safe water to drink, endless choices in food, culture, arts, literature, and freedoms.

My health:

While it has taken me far too long to be fully cognizant of how to be the best caretaker of myself, I believe that, intellectually, I have figured out 80% and that, by practice, I apply 80% of that knowledge to my daily living.

My home:

I live in the house that my parents built — literally, with their own hands — and am now raising my children here. Everyday I wake in a warm bed under a steeply-slanted cedar plank ceiling surrounded by tall and wide windows overlooking acres of oak and pine. I love my modern tree house in the woods.

So, how about you? What are the three things for which you are most grateful?