A Thankful Thanksgiving

This is the time of year when we all reflect on our blessings in life. Where we surround ourselves with close friends & family who can fill our hearts with love. This holiday season will be tough for me – not gonna lie. Life has handed me both the best & worst times of my life – awkwardly rolled into the same year. I was on Cloud 9 earlier in the year when Skye and I got engaged and I began to plan our wedding. Then just a couple weeks ago everything came crashing down and now I’m facing the holidays as a single girl. Christmas was a special time for us because that’s when we first met, and then rekindled a year after we first met. Our 8 year anniversary would have been on December 15th. I'm sure I will struggle this season with not having him around.

 

I wanted to take a moment during this time of chaos in my life to celebrate the things that I am very thankful for. These are just a few…

• The opportunity to fall in love with someone so completely for 8 years. All the memories & lessons that came from our relationship. The lessons that will come from the breakup. The chance to feel like that about someone. (that was HARD to write, it made me tear up, but so true!) {You can read about our love story here- part 1, part 2, part 3, engagement story.}
• My dad’s good health this year. He went through a quadruple by-pass last December and now has a clean bill of health.
• Even though my mom and I don’t have the best history with our relationship, I am trying to be more patient and kind to her. Her health is not in the best place these days with her lung cancer so I am trying not to waste our time together. We have been talking more often.
• My job. I’ve been able to travel and grow in my field this year. I’ve been rewarded for my hard work. It feels good to know that I am doing a good job for my company. I work for a good company that pays me to do a job that I enjoy (most of the time!).
• My best friends. We have supported each other a lot this year. Most of them I have known since childhood. They are amazing women, and I honestly am a better woman because I am surrounded by them. They accept me & love me in spite of my flaws. They laugh the ugly laughs and cry the ugly cries with me.
• Friends who have left me. I’m oddly thankful for “fake friends” or friends who have  left my life because it helps me to appreciate the good ones who are always there. If you judge me, then I don’t need you. Period.
• My dogs – Tilly & Sadie. They are such dolls. Tilly gets a little more attention on the blog than Sadie, but my heart swells with love for them both. They are my little pick-me-ups at the end of every day.
• My faith in God. I am not the most religious person out there. You won’t find me in church every Sunday. But my faith in God is strong and unwavering. I have been through a lot in my life, and always He is there to make me whole again. I am thankful He is a forgiving God, who always loves me.
• My blog. Oh, what a perfect outlet this has grown into for me! I’ve said it before, but it’s so true how blessed I feel to be acquainted with all you wonderful ladies! The support is never ending. Blogging helps me spew my feelings and my random pictures, but also helps me realize the bigger world out there. The fact that I’m not alone in any situation because someone else has lived it and more importantly survived it AND they are willing to talk to me about it.
• New beginnings. I’m not quite ready to be thankful for this yet…but I’ll get there.
• Just for giggles, I'm adding Diet Coke. I have lived on Diet Coke for the past couple of weeks so I'm thankful for the pep it has provided me.

I hope that everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving with the ones you love! Eat until the buttons on your pants bust open! XOXO!