Each year I try to catch A Capitol Fourth on PBS. This year I caught only a tiny bit, thanks to a food coma and stomach ache from too much feasting.

It’s easy to look around every day and see a lot of good without it really registering. I know that I take a lot for granted. Seeing the fireworks and the military bands play while backlit by fireworks and flanked by statues that glowed with each aerial explosion was moving, as always. On my drive home, I was thinking about the many things — big and small — that I’m thankful for.

Family. Friends. A cold beer on a hot day. Junebugs on a warm evening. Connections you build with people and keep, regardless of distance or how often you talk. Inspiring music. The power of the written word. Paved roads. Electicity. Air conditioning. My cat. My piano. A seemingly neverending list of classes I want to take, and the ability to tackle them all. A great job, with great people. Being close to the ocean. Being close to the mountains. The internet. Our troops. Our policemen. Our firefighters. Our first responders. The ability to call a cocktail “dinner” if I want to. The ability to call dessert “breakfast” if I want to. Food. Clothing. Shelter. The list could go on and on.

But perhaps the greatest of all is freedom.

Tonight I am thankful for everything I have, big and small, and for the comfortable life I’m blessed to be able to call my own. Without a piano or a cocktail or a class I want to take, my life wouldn’t be much different. But without our freedom, I cringe to imagine what life would be.