Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving 2019 is just a few days away! I am sure most of you are getting ready this weekend. Whether you do the entire meal for your family like my mom and niece and I do or maybe you just bring a side there is a lot of preparation that go into the holiday. From shopping to cooking to cleaning and all that comes with any holiday in your family I think it is safe to say it is pretty busy. But with all the hustle and bustle that comes with that do you remember the true reason for this holiday? Are you remembering to think about what you are thankful for? I wanted to keep my tradition of dedicating a post to remember the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Since I have been doing this for a few years now I think it is safe to say I have made my thankful posts a tradition. That is the perfect segue into the first thing I want to say I am thankful for: Traditions. My family honestly has a ton of them specially around the holidays. Sure, as my sister and I got older some of them fell away or even just changed as our family grew but they are still very much there. Once the Fall hits we are pretty much busy until the new year. One of my favorite newer traditions is Thanksgiving eve. My niece for the last few years sleeps over and helps my mom, and I make the Thanksgiving meal. Usually that even means she gets up early to put the turkey in the oven. I think all three of us love this tradition pretty equally. Another I love is apple picking in October, Christmas mornings, and even spending some time together on New Year's Eve (which happens to also be my birthday) with little party snacks and board games. I could honestly write an entire post about our traditions alone, but I will sum it up. I am very thankful that even as our family has grown and things have changed we still have a good number of our traditions still going.
You can't really have traditions without the people in your life though can you? I say this one every year, but that is because it always still stands. I am very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life, and I will never take that for granted. To mention the obvious first, I am very thankful for my family. I am very much aware how blessed I am to have the family I do because some are not as lucky. Sure like any family we have fights and disagreements and get under each other's skin, but we always come together when we need to. I also have some really great friends in my life. I know I can always count on them when I need someone to talk to and that absolutely goes both ways. I know I don't need to say who you are. If you are reading this, you know! There is one more category of people I need to mention too. I have been mentioning for months now how work has been crazy for me. This week my bosses showed me just how appreciative they are of me. It is honestly so nice to know I am working for two people that don't just treat me like their employee. We had a conversation about making things work better and even talked about ways to help me out even more. They and their families have always shown me their appreciation, and I know not all people are that lucky. I genuinely feel like I have such great people in my life and wouldn't trade them for anything.
The last thing I wanted to mention was how thankful I am for progress. Progress no matter how big or small is still progress. Every year in some way I grow, and this year was no different. Sure work has been stressful, but I haven't been letting it get to me to the extent that I'm getting sick. A few years ago I would have. I have found better ways to deal with my stress. I have made a ton of progress in the gym even if my weight has been pretty stagnant lately. I didn't even know what a deadlift was two years ago now look at me go! I have gained a good number of views and followers on my blog here as well and I am incredibly thankful for that. Writing is as you know something I love to do so to be able to keep that going is such a blessing for me. I even expanded my writing quite a bit this year too! Progress to me, even if it just means progressing through one day onto the other, is so important and I am so thankful for it. Do you want to know why? Because it means I am alive and still moving forward. It means I am still living life and even when things are difficult I get through it. I am thankful to be living each and every day.
I am incredibly blessed and I know it. I could honestly make this post about three times longer than I usually write because of this. I know some are not as lucky, and everyone's struggles are different from your own. No matter where you are in life I am sure there is something you can be thankful for. Maybe it is that one person in your life that is just very special and you appreciate more than anything. Maybe you just got a new job or promotion. Maybe it is your dog or cat that shows you nothing but unconditional love. If you are reading this, it means you have access to the internet and likely a roof over your head. That in itself is something to be thankful for as some do not even have that. Count your blessings and appreciate them this holiday. I hope you all have a lovely holiday if you celebrate, and as I mentioned last week, enjoy yourself!
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