Yesterday I wrote about why I am thankful. Or grateful. I’ll never think about that the same way again.

But it didn’t go far enough for me. It is easy to say I am thankful for life, for family, for friends, for food, for shelter, for heat, for clothing, for health. But there is so much more. For Creation. For nature. For education. For employment.

Each one of those could be paragraphs.

For life—I understand how fine that line is between life and death. I could have been killed in the attack in Israel or in the car accident on the West Side Highway. Therefore I have an obligation to give thanks and to make sure my life matters. I try hard not to be bitter and to live every day to its fullest. Sarah said I should open a bottle of champagne every day and remember to say Shehechianu. I don’t always but I try to say, “Modah Ani Lefanecha” when I wake up. Thank You, G-d. I am still here. I am still alive.

For family—my “nuclear family” of Simon and Sarah. So proud of how Sarah is navigating the complicated world of being an adult, making real choices, living in California. I miss her tremendously today but I am thankful also for cell phones and Skype. The traditions continue. Just differently. Simon keeps me grounded and humble. Even when I get frustrated. Even when I am stressed. I don’t always say it. It is simple. I love him. My wide extended family that includes Simon’s kids, Anna, Richard and Gabrielle, their spouses, Bob and Edgar kids, Madeline, Spencer and Sophia. They have taught me much and make me laugh. My brother, Danny, his wife Darcy, niece and nephew, Nelle and Buddy. My cousins, Laurie, Amy, and Meg and spouses and kids, Simon’s family, Fred and Tricia, Don and Marsha, Laura and their kids and kids. Simon’s cousins. Where else can I feel like a perfect 10.

For friends—I have a lot of them. Apparently more than most. I am “attached”. I could not have gotten through rabbinical school without each of them. Not just rabbinical school Life. High School. College, Beyond. I am thankful for Facebook which keeps us in contact. The “little people”—baristas, hair dressers, massage therapists, Molly Maids. Then there are the really good friends. Friends for a lifetime that I can call in the middle of the night—or from some road or other. If I start naming them I will miss someone but especially today Beryl, Marylin, Lisette, Linda, Amy, David, Jack, Larry. Friends at the Academy—Linda, Katy, Anne, Ziona, Lisa, Michael, again too many to count. And new friends Don, David, Keith. And many, many at Congregation Kneseth Israel. I guess that means I am thankful for my cell phone. Oh yes, you bet. And I think maybe T-Mobile fixed mine today. I am thankful for Ozzie at T-Mobile, and Fred at T-Mobile in Nashua.

For food. It is no secret that I like to eat. I like lots of food. Even vegetables. An Alef Bet of them. Asparagus, Artichokes, avocado, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, corn, fennel, leeks, mushrooms, pumpkin, spinach, tomatoes (OK a fruit). You get the idea. I like the variety, the colors, the spice. I like cooking. I like going to the farmer’s market and picking out the perfect, in-season something. I LOVE steak, potato and asparagus. I love the perfect cup of coffee. I love having conversations over dinner and discussing the issues of the day. And I love the fact that I have a great Weight Watchers leader, Terra, who keeps me in check and reminds me it is not just about the food. It is a lifestyle. And her optimism, her encouragement and her self-love makes all the difference. And I know that not everyone has enough to eat. We have enough food in the world. G-d does provide as the Birkat Hamazon says, we need to learn to distribute it better.

For shelter—I love our new house. We’ve been here a year now in this location. We haven’t spent much time decorating but all the stuff we had crammed in our condo looks great here. We have built in bookcases everywhere and a palatial master bath that is almost embarrassing. We have a big deck that made figuring out how to put up a sukkah more complicated but we did it! We are right next to the wetlands so the sound of birds greets us. Simon put in a large vegetable garden. If I call you and say I live in a cornfield, don’t necessarily believe me although they are in walking distance, as are the cows, and the river. Simon thinks we live in a forest on the edge of the prairie. Not really forest either. But it is beautiful. The sun is shining through the windows with snowflakes flurrying. We have plenty of room. Come visit. Again, I realize that not everyone is as lucky as us.

For heat. This has been a cold year. The coldest November on record in Chicagoland. Snow for Passover, Yom Kippur, Halloween and now Thanksgiving flurries. Again, we are lucky. I am relieved that the cost of gas is coming down. I think we must continue to work on issues of climate change. We have heat. So many do not.

For clothing—Sometimes I can’t figure out what to wear. I am between sizes and that is a good thing. But I have a new winter coat and plenty of hats and scarves and gloves (thank you Roberts Family and Echo!). I have shoes and pants, dresses and skirts, shirts and blazers. Dressy clothes, business clothes, casual clothes, painting clothes, athletic clothes.

For health—This is a big one. I am again lucky. I am relatively healthy. Sure, I could be more healthy if I could lose more weight. I am thankful for scientists who work on research that produce medications that help keep me healthy. I am thankful for doctors who are skilled and smart and compassionate. For nurses. For therapists be they PhDs, social workers, psychologists, physical, occupational, respiratory, massage. All them help keep all of us healthy. I am especially grateful for Leslie, for Marian, for Heather, for David, for Dorothea. I am thankful that I can run again. That I can walk without pain. That I can be outside in creation and enjoy praising G-d in that way. Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav counseled that we should be outdoors for an hour each day, just walked. Henry David Thoreau thought four hours would be ideal. I may not have four hours and some days even an hour seems hard to find. My doctors, my nurses, my medications and my exercise keep me healthy. I am thankful.

For Creation. For nature—How can we not be amazed and awed at the beauty of Creation? How can we not work to protect it? A sunset. A sunrise. A mountain peak. An ocean view. Or a lake. A walk in the woods or through the prairie. For the variety of animals. I can even be thankful—and this is a stretch—for mosquitos. As the song says, “All G-d’s creatures got a place in the choir.”

For education—I am who I am because my parents believed in education. I read early. I devoured books. I learned the importance of asking good questions. For Oakton Elementary, for Breton Downs, East Grand Rapids Middle School, East Grand Rapids High School, Tufts University, Hebrew College and the Academy for Jewish Religion. For teachers and administrators. Guidance counselors and librarians. Coaches and leaders and advisors. For classes and books and extra-curricular activities. Sometimes I learned more from the “extras” than from the classes themselves. “Much I have learned from my teachers, even more from my colleagues and the most from my students.” (Ta’anit 7a) I am grateful to all.

For employment—This is the biggest one this week. I have a job I love. Sure some days the hours are long. Sure there are days I complain. But I have found a job where I can make a difference in the world and maybe even more importantly in the lives of individual people. I have congregants who take their Judaism seriously. Who wrestle with tough issues. Who engage with their tradition deeply. Who ask hard questions. Who want to be mensches. Who want to be a partner with their rabbi. It is exactly what I was looking for when I went into the rabbinate.

This Thanksgiving, I have a lot to be thankful for as well as grateful. What are you thankful for?