So November seems to always bring out the thankful side of people. Yes, we should probably do it every single day, but it rarely happens. So until we have 365 days of thanks, we have 30 days of thanks!! I have been sharing my thanks with my twitter followers, but I thought I'd keep track here as well. So this blog is (the first) TEN DAYS of THANKS. Here we go:
Day One, I was incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend. Heather was my best friend in Kindergarten, and all the way through fifth grade. We were almost always in the same class and I missed her terribly when we moved away. Some how though Heather & I managed to keep in touch. This is shocking, truly, because the Internet was not as accessible back then. Seriously. We wrote letters to one another, sent cards and eventually we created email accounts and attempted to keep in touch that way. Who knew the invention of facebook would make us even closer, even through the distance. So, oddly enough, Heather moved to the Chicago area when her husband was moved here. And I moved with Ryan to the Chicago area. After 25years of friendship and 19 years of living apart we were able to get together. Heather now has three children (adorable!!) and we spent Nov 1 sitting around her house, me holding her newborn son Kaleb, just chatting & hanging out as if nothing had ever changed. What a blessing!!
Day Two, this must have been the start of the breakdown in our heater, because it was so unbelievably cold in our house. THANKFULLY a few Christmas' ago my mom got me a "bed warmer" or a heated blanket. We turn it on so that when it's time to go to bed the sheets are not freezing. They are nice & Toasty! On Nov 2 I was very thankful I did not have to get out of our cold bed, because it was just way too cold to go anywhere.
Day Three, One of my favorite thankful things. I am truly blessed to have bosses who believe in me so much that they have fully supported me moving to Illinois and more importantly my job search. All three people I reported to at the Naturals, from my supervisor, to the Asst GM to the General Manager of the NWA Naturals have all said to me that they would do anything to help me find a job, they will be a reference for me, make calls for me, and do what ever I may need. This speaks such volumes of what they must have truly thought about me and I am so thankful to have such wonderful, supportive people so willing to help who honestly believe in me!
Day Four, Nov 4 was a Friday, so obviously I was incredibly thankful that my love, Ryan, was on his way home after another week apart (for his work). The work weeks are tough, because I WANT to work so much and do not have a job and Ryan tends to have to travel for work, so it leaves me..... bored, perhaps. I look forward to seeing my love every chance I get, so every single Friday is a perfect day to give thanks, that I have a love in my life and that he comes home to me, and he's just as happy to see me as I am to see him!!
Day Five, HA!! I was thankful for insurance. I personally do not have any, but I am very thankful for Ryan's insurance, because in the last month he has had 4 teeth pulled (wisdom teeth, why do we have them??) so between the cost of procedures, antibiotics and pain killers, I am oh so thankful for insurance. Not to mention that in 295 days I will be covered on that insurance and so will our future children!
Day Six, PARENTS!! I have amazing, supportive, wonderful parents! yes, they yelled at us, or punished us, but they never, not once belittled and abused us!! I have a neighbor that reminds me daily how grateful I am for such wonderful parents. I hear my neighbor talk to her children and I am disgusted by her "parenting" so today & everyday I give thanks for the sort of parents who love you, even though you make mistakes, bail you out in time of need, never give up on you and even when you piss them off they still love you!!
Day Seven, Thankful for photos and videos of my puppies. I miss them probably more than I miss my friends & parents. Mostly because they can't talk on the phone or possibly know how much they mean to me. I videoed my pups and took hundreds of pictures of them. Everyday I look at the pictures. Everyday I see their little paws, faces, noses, tails and everything fabulous about them!! Don't worry puppies, I am coming home to see you soon!!
Day Eight, I spent the day with Erin, my future-sister-in-law. We just wandered around, shopping, hanging out. It was great. I grew up with one brother, who I do not always get along with, who doesn't seem to treasure our relationship nearly as much as I do, so having a sibling isn't always fabulous. Erin makes it so easy to hang out, to just be "sisters" and that is quite a blessing.
Day Nine, So many heroes in our world. I am thankful for all that serve our country. Not JUST the military, although they do hold a very special place in my heart. Fire fighters, police officers, people so willing to do for others, to give their own lives just to protect ours. What a blessing to live in a free world, that is provided to us by people who do the things we would not want to do ourselves. First Responders, Military & every day heroes, THANK YOU!! Specifically my Dad & Ryan. Amazing men!!
Day Ten, Grandmas. So, I've said it a hundred times before, but life really is not the same without Grandmas. I was 24 when my Gram passed away. She was the epitome of everything Grandma's should be. She never yelled at us, she always let us do whatever it was we wanted (including throwing her waxed fruit center pieces around the house) and she fed us til we wanted to puke. She made everything about family & love!! At the beginning of this year I lost my other grandma. This one is not at all the same as the other, but just as great none-the-less. See, she was the sort of wife who made sure a hot dinner plate was sitting at the table when grandpa got home, the sort of wife who always did the cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc. Towards the end of her life she was not able to do these things and Grandpa had to learn... wow! That was something to witness. But you know what, it was during these "weak" moments in her health that I saw how strong she was, truly. She got angry at me for checking on her all the time-- even cursed at me when I called my mom to tell her about a chemo treatment. She was NOT to be taken care of, she was the one who was suppose to take care of us. She was a pistol too. She never took no sh*t from anyone. She was the sort of woman who would put you in your place if you did something she did not approve. She might have served people & did all those anti-feminist things, but she willingly did it and if there was something she did not want to do, boy did she tell you!! I guess I always WANTED to be more like my Gram, but I think in reality I might just be more like my Grandma and I don't really think it is a bad thing. I guess you could say I had two wonderful grandmas who taught me how to love & how to be strong. How lucky am I?!
No comments:
Post a Comment