Contributors share traditions and what they’re giving thanks for

I used to mark my year in reasons to fly home, and one of the biggest trips was naturally for Thanksgiving. LAX is reportedly the busiest airport in the US during Thanksgiving week, and from the endless delays, cancelations, and hours spent at a terminal during that week for the past decade I can say proudly that it’s true.. and I survived. Last year in the cab ride to the airport, a thought casually crossed my mind: “This is the last year I’ll travel for Thanksgiving.” It came and went before I had a chance to challenge it, but a year later I smile at my personal premonition.
For the first time since 2005, I am staying put for Thanksgiving. I see my family every day, yet the festive air is contagious and the holiday spirit feels even more magical now that I’m in a city in which temperatures drop for the season (plus you have to admit San Francisco feels like a snow globe city, without the snow). 2014 has been quite a year. I don’t know many who didn’t go through some kind of major change—a decision to change jobs, move into a new apartment, relocate to a new city, go back to school, start a company—and we are all better for it.
This Thanksgiving, take a pause before you begin your meal or before you change into your Thanksgiving pants, and give thanks to those around you (literally and figuratively). Here are what our single girls are grateful for this year.