Being just Thankful doesn't seem like enough.

Each year around Thanksgiving people begin to reflect on the things they are truly thankful for. On Facebook the challenge was sent out to post something to be thankful for every day. I treated this challenge rather flippantly and looked for small, overlooked items to post. This past week I was thankful for scissors, nail clippers, rice, flushing toilets and several other items that just don't get the attention they deserve.

Then I read "The Handmaiden's Tale" and realized that as a female, I have some larger, much more important things to be thankful for. Things that only recently became rights a woman could claim (but that in several countries are still not given to women).

I am thankful:

-that I do not have to wear a veil over my face and can smile at whomever I choose.
-that I have the right to vote.
-that I have the right to be counted as a citizen on the census.
-that I have the right to have my own checking account.
-that I have the right to own property.
-that I have the right to wear shorts or sandals in public.
-that I have the right to wear pants in public.
-that I have the right to play organized sports in those shorts.
-that I have the right to publish this writing on the internet.
-that Title IX is in place and allowed the women before me to pioneer women's sports.
-that I have the right to learn to read and to own books.
-that I have the right to refuse sexual advances by anyone.
-that I have the right to leave the house with my hair uncovered.
-that I have the right to leave the house.
-that I have the right to choose whom I am going to marry (or live with).
-that I have the right to research and choose my religion.
-that I have the right to have a job of my choosing.
-that I can pursue the education of my choice.
-that I can start a business of my own.
-that I can drive my own car.
-that I can celebrate my date of birth with an alcoholic beverage.
-that I can speak with or have friendships with men without fear for my life.
-that I can go out into public alone without the escort of a male relative.
-that I can choose the color, cut and design of my own clothes.
-that I can play a traditionally male sport and still have the respect of men.
-that I am free to speak my mind-whether anyone wants to listen or not.

For all these freedoms and so many more I couldn't count them, I am truly grateful to the women who bravely fought for them. This Thanksgiving I am giving thanks for their courage and contribution to the rights all women enjoy today. The right to proudly call myself a football player would not be mine if not for all the sacrifices women have made throughout history. To them, I humbly bow and say, "Thank you."