The Obligatory Thanksgiving Post

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “I wonder what Stacy is thankful for this year.” Admit it. You are. And because I’m nothing if not devoted to your happiness, I’m going to tell you that I’m thankful for many, many things this year. Many. Like the fact that most of my family still speaks to me after my last post. And that I’ll be drinking my first Red Carpet of the season in less than 48 hours. I’m also very thankful for my good and patient husband, who married a crazy woman but continues to take the position that I’m “not that crazy.” I’m thankful for my babysitter Sara, without whom there would not have been FOUR WHOLE BLOG POSTS this month. I’m thankful that Portland finally got a Kate Spade store and hoping that an H & M isn’t far behind. I’m thankful for the words “President Elect Barack Obama” and all that they imply. And in these days of economic ickiness, I’m really thankful to have a nice roof over my head and a manageable amount of debt.

But more than anything else, I’m thankful for a woman I’ve never met. Just about 20 months ago, this woman gave birth to a baby boy and decided to place him for adoption. She asked the agency to choose the adoptive parents, so she doesn’t know anything about us. She doesn’t know how close we came to giving up on being parents. She doesn’t know how terrified we were when the nurse handed us the baby and sent us on our way. She doesn’t know how beautiful he turned out to be, or that we gave him a goofy name, or that he’s obsessed with dogs (“doddie!!”) and spins in circles when he’s happy. And she certainly doesn’t know that she is and always will be one of the most important people in my life. There has not been a single day in the last 20 months that I haven’t stopped, closed my eyes and said “Thank you” to this total stranger. Even now, when I’m downstairs typing and he’s upstairs taking his growth spurt out on poor Sara, all I want to do is go up there and hug him and say thankyouthankyouthankyou.