Sometimes, I forget how amazingly lucky I am. Sometimes, it takes the prospect of a heaping pile of turkey to stop, think…and remember. Why is that, I wonder?

So, as we prepare to meet and eat with our families, I’d like to list a few things for which I’m particularly grateful. Big picture, little picture…and everything in between.

• I’m thankful to live in a country that at its core values freedom, education, and equality. Not everybody has that.

• I’m thankful for books, for poetry, for art, for grammar, for punctuation…and even for numbers. I’m thankful for the teachers who have inspired me, for the students who keep me on my toes, and for the freedom we all have to create as we please.

• I’m thankful for my amazing job…and my other equally amazing job. I’m doubly lucky in that arena, and I know it, especially these days.

• I’m thankful for my health. I’m thankful for my full refrigerator.

• And, I’m thankful for my family near and far, my dear friends, and — most of all — my sweet boys.

In short, I am a lucky, lucky girl. I’ll remember that as I dine this Thanksgiving.