I've got plenty to be thankful for

 I thought I would spend my Thanksgiving evening writing about the things in my life that I am truly grateful for.

I am thankful for friends—friends who text me, invite me to game nights and dinner, go running with me, or otherwise show they care.

I am thankful for people who support me—such as this senior missionary who left this card on my desk after he asked me about my Pride flag. 

I'm thankful that I have not one but two really cool jobs. For many years, I thought it would be cool to edit for Utah Historical Quarterly, and now that's exactly what I do!

I'm thankful for the historians who have established the scholarship and the historiography to shape the way we see the world. James W. Baker's Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday literally changed my life. And I'm amazed at how Leonard J. Arrington's Brigham Young: American Moses still holds up almost forty years later.

I'm thankful for the internet and for all the sources and resources that are available online. I'm especially grateful for Utah Digital Newspapers, which has so many newspapers since 1850 available online for free! It is truly remarkable, and I don't know how historians got their work done before the internet.

I am thankful that I have practically the entire world's musical catalog so easily available to me. This month, as I've been listening to 1989 (Taylor's Version) and The Beatles 1967–1970 (2023 Edition), I've appreciated the musical genius of people in the world, a genius that I, a nonmusician, can't even begin to comprehend.

I'm thankful for cats! I just can't believe that there is an entire species with adorable faces and soft fur that purr and meow, and best of all, they like to cuddle and spend time with us! They are one of life's greatest treasures. 

I'm thankful that there are multiple trailheads within running distance of my house, and many more within driving distance. I'm grateful that I have conditioned my body to crave movement. I just love spending time in the natural world and marveling at its beauty, and there's always something new to admire: the glacier lilies of March, the arrowleaf balsamroot of April, the mulesears of May, the sego lilies of June, the Richardson's geraniums of July, the sunflowers of August, the fleabane of September, the red maples of October, and the orange oaks of November. And even though I'm not a fan of rattlesnakes, I'm thankful that they rattle so I know to avoid them before they attack. 

A Thanksgiving afternoon run

Of course, there are many other things I'm thankful for, but these are things that have been especially on my mind lately.

And I'm thankful for you, dear reader, for giving me a reason to blog!