42 Simple Things We’re Incredibly Grateful For

1. Fuzzy socks
2. Backup fuzzy socks
3. Pets spotted on Zoom calls
4. A Smithsonian-sized collection of at-home mugs to choose from
5. The personal therapy of The Great British Baking Show
6. Deep existential realizations about one’s childhood
7. Thriving house plants (I see that luscious Pothos in your Zoom background, Alex)
8. Well-positioned space heaters
9. Creating lists
10. Karen Waldon
11. Places that make a wicked old fashioned
12. Coffee
13. Live music
14. Taylor’s dog Sherman
15. Live comedy
16. Movies
17. Puppies
18. Cats, but mainly my cat
19. WhirlyBall
20. The promise of WhirlyBall
21. The memory of WhirlyBall
22. The photos Taylor took of people we love playing WhirlyBall
23. Coworkers with big, beautiful hearts
24. Clients with bold ambitions, wonderful minds, and big, beautiful hearts
25. Candles
26. Clean water
27. Taika Waititi
28. The Princess Bride. Simply that this movie exists.
29. The ability to make bread from just flour, water, and salt. #ProSourdough
30. Competent wrist surgeons (success!) and good, old fashioned ibuprofen
31. A favorite pair of sweatpants
32. 60-degree November days
33. Cold hands on morning walks
34. Cold air in morning lungs
35. Cold water after burning bike rides
36. Huge, salty blocks of cheese
37. Chocolate. Don’t forget chocolate.
38. “The temperature outside, right now, is perfect, and the air is fresh, and I just had two minutes on the porch to breathe it in while the sun slanted over the peak and filtered through the big apple tree in my neighbor’s yard, and I was grateful to be small in a big world.”
39. “George Saunders just published a new book about story structure, and he’s brilliant, and he doesn’t need money anymore, but he’s still making things, and I’m so grateful for that.”
40. “We’re having a work day tomorrow, clearing out my garage after a recent little construction project, and my dad and my son will both help me, and we all have working hands and legs, and I’m grateful for that.”
41. “Friends who are willing to gather and discuss whether disgust is a reliable barometer of wrong action.”
42. “And also for anticipation, which happens less as you go along but still feels wonderful when it comes.”

I’m grateful to the whole team for this list. You beautiful, brilliant, clever people, you. Also, special thanks to the great Ben Robb for some of the more articulate, thoughtful answers in there. …He really topped my (Anthony’s) space heaters contribution.