Parenting takes a village... and baby wipes, coffee, wine, playdates, iPad apps, and more coffee and wine. So, this Thanksgiving, we asked the HuffPost Parents Facebook community to take a moment and tell us what they are most thankful for. The catch? They couldn't say their kids. Their answers included big stuff, like organ donors who saved children's lives, as well as mundane fleeting pleasures, e.g. bacon and beer. Here's a sampling from the list.
What Parents Are Thankful For This Year
1. My children's birth parents for making me a mom!
2. Preschool. Sometimes my 3-year-old and I just need some time apart.
3. Nap-time
4. Bacon. I'm thankful for bacon. And beer.
5. The Bubble Guppies. They allow me the time to cook dinner.
6. Maternity pants that can be worn several months post-partum.
7. My feather duvet and a heating pad on my feet.
8. The family of the donor who gave my 10-year-old daughter a new liver -- and a new lease on life.
9. Being able to finish grad school while raising a toddler alone as my husband was on deployment. I am demonstrating to my son that anything is possible when you work for it.
10. Zofran.
11. Online shopping and delivery for just about everything!
12. IVF and an employer that covered 90 percent of the related expenses... It gave us two incredible children that we would never have been able to have on our own.
13. My wife.
14. That I live in a country where I can raise my kids as a single mom with more help than judgment.
15. Coffee. And a great husband. And yoga pants. But mostly coffee.
16. Chocolate.
17. Heated seats in my car.
18. Clean, hot, running water. Seriously, how many people on the planet go without this luxury?
19. Five minutes of peace.
20. ABA therapy for my son with autism. And speech therapists.
21. Another year after surviving cancer.
22. My child's oncology doctors. Their love and dedication is out of the world.
23. The 10 minutes a day by myself in a hot shower.
24. Not being afraid to stay up late and take precious quiet time for myself -- because my son finally sleeps through the night!
25. The strong, sympathetic, understanding, patient, hilarious Mommies I can call my friends. My kid is sometimes "that kid" and I have never felt judged, or disregarded or blamed by any of them.
26. Dedicated NICU nurses and a health care system that allows for access to miracle technology that literally took breaths for my baby and provided nourishment I couldn't. Also, Chai tea.
27. My job -- partly because I love working as a pastry chef, and partly because it's my escape from being Mommy!
28. I'm thankful for my mom. The only thing she's better at than being a mom is being a grandma.
29. I am grateful I can run.
30. Thankful for the roof over my head and the food in my fridge.
31. That there are still kind people in this world to give me hope.
32. Eight hours of sleep for two nights in a row!
33. Skype.
34. Pajamas.
35. I'm nursing a newborn around the clock. I'm not sure what I'd do without Netflix and my iPhone.
36. The hour after dinner where my husband plays/reads/entertains and I get to watch Netflix in the bathtub.
37. Bedtime.
38. Wine.
39. Wine.
40. Wine.