Happy Thanksgiving from Gluten-Free Fun

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have so much to be thankful today and always. It has been a challenging year but I have realized that I have a strong support system that keeps me going. As I sit here watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, I am reflecting on a few things that I am thankful for today.

• Family. My mom, sister, nieces, and nephew all mean the world to me. It is their unconditional love, support, phone calls, and hugs that gets me through my toughest days.
• Friends. My friend group has changed dramatically in the past year anad a half. I realize in my 30s that it isn't the quantity of people on my FB page or in my phone, it is the quality of those who are really there for me. My best friends have been there for me this year in a way that I will forever be thankful for. I don't think they even know how much they mean to me and how their texts and phone calls helped me so much this year. Thank you Laura, Kristen, Doria, Mike, and Jamie for being you! 
• Health insurance. It's been another rough year of too many doctor's appointments and not too many answers. I honestly cannot imagine what my bills would be without the great coverage I have thanks to my company. I have a rough month of testing ahead of me, but I am working towards a new year's resolution for no doctors in 2013. 
• Travel. Traveling around the country and the world is a passion of mine. I have always enjoyed traveling and think too many people with Celiac Disease are scared to be so far away from home. I understand that feeling but hope that through my travel stories on my Gluten-Free Globetrotter website will encourage at least one person living a gluten-free life to hop on a plane and explore our amazing world. 
• Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease has been a part of my life since my diagnosis in 1981. It has shaped so much of who I am that i cannot imagine if I didn't have it. While there have been so many challenges over the years, I am thankful that I got a diagnosis more than three decades ago.
• Gluten-free food.  The gluten-free food of 2012 is soooooo much better than it has ever been. I see so many people complaining online about crappy gluten-free food, but you don't know crappy until you eat rice cakes as bread every day of your life for the first five years post-diagnosis. Don't believe me, ask my mom! There was nothing to eat in the 1980s. Yes, much of the gluten-free food tasting is trial and error but there are so many great gluten-free foods on the market today and for that I am thankful.
• Guten-free and Celiac social media/YOU! I am beyond thankful that I can write this blog, engage with my Facebook fans, and Tweet to my followers each and every day. I have met some really amazing people through gluten-free social media. It still amazes me that some of the people I am the closest with and email the most about my health are people online that I have never met. You are all an amazing support system and for that I am thankful. 

I hope you and your families have a wonderful, safe, and loving Thanksgiving day!