happy birthday, america!

As much as I'm thrilled for the next international adventure, I already know I'll miss New York and the entirety of the U.S.A., like, a whole lot. I kind of love this perfectly imperfect country, and I am so, so happy and grateful to call it home. 

And what better day to appreciate all the reasons why...

• Real breakfast foods: pancakes, breakfast burritos, NY bagels, etc.
• The college experience.
• The right to have an opinion, and to express it.
• Four beautiful seasons (in the Northeast at least).
• Thanksgiving.
• Non-smoking restaurants, bars, pools.
• Broadway. Off-broadway, too.
• Real fudge brownies.
• The ability to vote.
• Crisp local apples. And apple pie.
• Work ethic.
• The childhood belief that you can be anyone you want to be.
• Winter sleigh rides and autumn hayrides.
• American literature, and poetry, and art.
• Disneyland.
• Watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve.
• Oreos, now more than ever.
• Free and unlimited water at bars and restaurants.
• Independent films.
• 24-hours anything (and usually everything).
• Innovators: Nora Ephron, Julias Schmid, Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Sanger, Steve Jobs, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, etc.
• Family barbecues.
• Hugs.
• Road Trip USA.
• Clean streets and sidewalks.
• Authentic Mexican food, if you know where to look. 
• Music of all kinds.
• T-shirts, blue jeans, flip-flops.
• City parks with WiFi.
• Real pizza--outside of Italy, that is.
• Quality mattresses and water pressure.
• Fireworks on the Fourth of July.
• Immigrants, especially the ones who have produced the countless number of multicultural friends and family members I adore.

Wishing you a fun and festive holiday!