As we head into this time of Thanksgiving, I hope that the feeling of gratefulness is on your heart. I realize that not all the hundreds of educators that I collaborate with world-wide, celebrate this holiday, so I hope you’ll indulge me.

Regardless of where you are in your life or career now, there is at least one thing, one person you can be grateful for. This is not a revelation by any means but rather a declaration that we all need to stop, consider and make.

Today on this Friday before Thanksgiving 2013, I want to declare my gratefulness and gratitude to 10 very special people in my life. People for whom my life and work would not be as fulfilling as it is, were it not for their care and support.

10 of my Finest Friends

1. My Husband Randy. I’m grateful that he’s my best friend, loves me, is faithful to me (it’s a second time around for both of us) and has supported me through many, recent, life changes. He is my Rock and I love him deeply.

2 & 3. My sons Jason and Aaron. I’m grateful that they value me as a person, share their lives with me, actually listen to what I share and give amazing feedback. Although they are my sons, in many ways they are also becoming good friends. They both inspire me daily, to be a better Mom!

 

4. My friend Holly Willis, Edutopia’s Social Media Marketing Assistant. Holly is an amazingly talented, caring, and supportive person.  As I assumed the role as her colleague on  the Social Media Marketing Team with Edutopia.org, I’ve been grateful for her mentorship. She took the time to talk with me, train me and genuinely cared about offering support so that I could be a successful member of the team.  Edutopia will truly not be the same without her. Big Hugs to you, Holly! I will miss you greatly, and wish you much success in your new endeavour.

5. My friend Shelly Terrell. It was in the fall of 2009 when I didn’t yet have a presence on twitter that saw her tweet about a recent blog post. I responded to the blog post and left a lengthy comment. We struck up a friendship and she soon mentored me in all things Twitter! We’ve since collaborated on several wonderful projects, one of which is The 30 Goals Challenge. I’m grateful to Shelly for that and so much more! Shelly and I finally met in person at ISTE13 and it was awesome! Grateful to call her my #edusister. 😉 Look forward to fun projects in 2014.

 

6. My friend Alice Keeler. I met Alice on Twitter as I’ve been blessed to do with so many recent friendships. She is brilliant, vivacious, and enthusiastic. We spent a week together in June 2013 on an amazing #isteladiesroadtrip to Texas and it was a blast! I’m grateful to her for the ongoing discussions we have, not only about education, but on life and our spirituality. Even though we might not talk for weeks, I know I can reach out to her anytime. Alice has stayed with me as a house guest, and she’s a real treasure. Not to mention that she always compliments me on my coffee! I can’t wait for her next visit. 🙂  Thank you, #edusister for your love and support.

 

7,8,9,10. My New Teacher Chat Co-Mod team! Natasha Dunn @yomsdunn, Derek Keenan @MrDKeenan, Jaime Vandergrift @JaimeVandergrift, Dean Mantz @dmantz7 are amazing, hardworking educators. These four friends, have been a tremendous support to me in my work with New Teacher Chat #ntchat this year. I look forward to great things to come in 2014!

 

Gratitude Matters

In the end…gratitude doesn’t come from how many friends you have, or what they do for you, but rather the value these friends bring to your life. You may not talk to them daily, see them weekly, but you know that they are there. They may not even know, how much they mean to you. But…with an email, text, tweet or Google Hangout you can connect to your friends and tell them you care and count on them to support you. Whether you are standing up for the rights of the afflicted in your community, the needs of students in your classroom, or the need you have to be personally supported…even on the worst day…you know that you can reach out!

At this Thanksgiving time, I share my gratefulness and gratitude to these 10 wonderful friends today. Friends who have been there to listen, stand with me and support me.

I share this in the hope that, no matter your current situation, you will take a moment to reflect on those very special people in your life, who make it that much better and brighter and show them you care.

And…I leave you with this question: Who are you grateful for?