I normally wouldn’t write a thankful list but it’s been an awfully good year and I want to document it! And I just finished a long run where I had a lot of time to think about it. So here goes! I categorized it to make it easier for skimming, ha. And this is not an exhaustive list, just a few things on my mind.

I’m thankful for:

Family & Community

1. Steven (my husband) – we’ve been together since September 2002 (21+ years!) – more than half of my life – and I fall more in love with him each year. It kind of blows my mind, like, how is that even possible? But as you go through stuff together, and are always there for one another, you just grow closer and open up new depth to your relationship. It’s pretty exciting.
2. Christina, (my snister, aka sister) – I feel so lucky to have a sister who is my best friend and who has always shown me what true friendship should be – someone who accepts me for who I am, is always there for me, and tells me the honest truth (like that day I FaceTimed her at work to ask if my hair was such a disaster I should pull it back and she said yes ha ha ha). And we have so much fun together. And she’s my hype girl. And she will research and find me things to buy that I don’t want to. And etc etc. I could go on and on.
3. My family (parents & siblings) – they’ve demonstrated to me from a young age that I should be exactly who I want to be and not worry about what other people think of me. I’ve always appreciated that.
4. My friends – I have a lot of friends who really care about me (in real life and on here) and accept me for who I am, and that means the world to me. Thank you so much.
5. Our cats – we love our fur babies so much and our lives would be dull without them.

Opportunity 

1. For new friendships & community – it just continually blows my mind that I make new friendships and connections each year. I’ve met people from all over the world though my painting account on Instagram (some whom I will meet in person for the first time in April), we’ve made friends with people through Steven’s flying, and I’ve joined a wonderful community at WWM, where I work out. It’s so exciting to make new connections with people.
2. For adventure – we’ve had such a busy social/travel calendar this year and it’s been exhilarating. I’m going to be cliche and say it’s felt like we are living life to the fullest – but that is how it feels. And all the fun adventure we’ve had has helped combat the (sometimes) monotony of our daily lives.
3. To fly – Steven working on getting his pilot’s license/certificate has been so exciting, and I cannot wait to be his copilot. All my years of loving navigation and memorization is finally coming into use.
4. To support Steven’s small business – this was so stressful at first – trying to figure out how to work for Steven and do all the other things I want to do, and it turned out I couldn’t and I needed to reprioritize. I’m grateful this got me back to therapy and spending less time on social media and more time in the real world. I’m more present and enjoy life much more since I’ve stopped being on social media as much (but am still so grateful for the connections I’ve made on it – what can I say – it’s complicated). And it feels really really good to be able to help Steven and be a part of the team.
5. At work – the position I am in was revamped in March 2022 and I’m at a higher level than I was before and have a lot of interactions with leadership locally and nationally.

Health

I’m so glad I’ve focused on my health this year, both physical and mental. It feels so good… to feel good – to wake up with energy, to not be out of breath, to go up and down the stairs and not feel it, to want to eat foods that make me feel my best most of the time, but also have my favorite junk foods too, to be back to running and lifting 3x a week… I just feel really good, and am grateful for it. And am grateful for the health of my loved ones too.

Thanks for reading and being here! I appreciate you!