It gets hard to write a meaningful Thanksgiving Day post when one tries to be meaningful and thoughtful every day.  You read my blog, you know I am grateful and thankful for my family and friends (mostly) all of the time.  So this year I thought I would do something a little different and thank YOU!

Yes, you reading this blog, you who come as often as you can to check in on how Grant, Tyler and I are doing. You who really care about us.  You who read me during the fun times or the times that I am not doing so well.

You are the reason I write.  Your comments, whether on my blog, Twitter, or Google+ keep me going and your support helps me when I am low and your “thank you for writing this!” encourages me to keep writing.

With the permission of these ladies, I thought I would name some of you personally.  My mind’s not the greatest as you know, so I looked back on my past posts to people who commented often on my blog to name the following people.  If I didn’t name you or ask you, please feel free to leave a comment to let me know that you are here and that you come often.  Even if you never commented before, take a 30 seconds to let me know who you are!

Okay, here goes…

Most bloggers who tweet do so first and foremost to promote their blogs.  How surprised I was to learn that I actually could make some good friends out of the bargain!  Karen, @KRDRE1974, has been a great friend to me and we crossed that border between friend on the internet and friend in real life earlier this year.  Karen, it has been my pleasure to meet and know you and to commiserate with you!

Another Twitter friend, Cindy, @momBto3, helped me out when I was in a tight spot because she could and because she understood and because she trusted me.  She was there for me when there was no one else and I will thank her and owe her always, even though my “debt” has been paid.

I met Michelle of Hope In Bracelets when I approached her to do a contest with me for the first time.  Not only does she make beautiful jewelry, she also makes a beautiful friend.  Hey Michelle, I was going to ask you about doing a holiday contest, what do you think?

I met Beth through a blog hop and even though the hop no longer exists she hops over to my blog every so often to say she cares.  Thank you, Beth!

I met another blogger through Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop, Caroline of I See You Looking at Me.  We connected because of our mutual mental illnesses and she has given me comfort.

Meredith, I don’t know where I met you…Twitter, through the Blogosphere…but it seems like we have been friends forever!  Even though Meredith has Lyme Disease and I have Lupus, the two of us can get along!  Thanks for crossing over, Mer!

I met Shannon through Twitter.  We have Fibromyalgia in common and Shannon posts some great info about Fibro.  She also comes to my blog and gives me some great advice and it is so evident that she cares!  It is much appreciated, Shannon!

And finally, there are a couple of people, who behind the scenes, have helped me all year long that definitely deserve mentioning.

I met Amy of Selfish Mom, when we wrote for the now defunct Silicon Valley Moms Group. Any time someone offers me a proposal, an ad or a promotion, or I’ve got a troll on my blog, I email Amy with the subject line usually something like “Heeeellllppp!”  Amy has been blogging a lot longer than I and she is always my “go to” person and she writes back really quickly.  Thank you, Amy, for assisting me with the many questions I had this year, and for helping me make good decisions and for helping me to learn.

Finally, I met Brittney of The Nerdy Nurse, through LinkedIn.  I had put a discussion topic on there asking people if someone could please help me out with some technical issues on my blog that I could not fix on my own.  The only problem was that I could not afford to pay them.  Brittney was the only good soul who fixed my blog for free. Mama Sick’s little quirks were ironed out and looks a little sharper thanks to Brittney!

I know there are many more to thank, again, this is all my foggy head could bring to mind. Please leave a comment today to let me know you are here too!

And to all of my readers and friends who keep coming back to read about my problems, even though I know you have plenty of your own, thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope that those of you who are chronically ill get a break today and are able to enjoy the holiday with your family and friends.