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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

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!


  Photobucket

27 comments:

Unknown said...

i love what you said about your mom. i have been doing the same thing. my parents aren't sick, but i have been taking my relationship with them for granted the past few years i think.. not spending time with them. suddenly i notice them getting older, and i am making myself just hang out more... its so important..
you should stop by and link this up with our BLESSED link up for all the Thankful posts.. =)

kayla said...

wishing you the happiest of thanksgivings as you can have, girl. and i will be thinking of you during this tough time of year! xo

Erin @ Happily Obsessed said...

I LOVE this post!!! I am sooo happy your are choosing to look at what you have now and not what you lost. This will be a tough time for you but with friends and family that support you, it will make it a tad bit easier. <3

PS If your mail man doesn't deliver a package today his head is mine!!

Erin said...

Happy Thanksgiving dear! Hold that beautiful head up and high and embrace all the good in your life right now :)

Unknown said...

Diet coke is so so good! Sweet nectar from the gods:) Hope you have a great day!

Faith said...

you are absolutely beautiful, inside and out. you have so much to be grateful for.

i hope that you have a wonderful Thankgiving. you certainly deserve it!

Kim Luke said...

I am thankful for meeting you. (well not yet officially). You are so thoughtful and caring and I am thankful to call you my friend!

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! Please give Tilly puppy kisses for me!

Oh, and I'm thankful for Moscato. :)

XOXO

Unknown said...

I don't know you at all but I enjoy your blogs. And you wont be going throught he holidays alone... you'll have all your bloggers and real life friends and family to lean on. Trust me, I've have been using the hell out of them as a crutch too. It's hard, and sad, and terrible, but you can get over it. From what I have read you are a very strong person. "This too shall pass" Keep your head up, smile, and just climb right over this mountian of shit.When you get over it, and look back, you wont have tears of sadness but tears of joy from knowing that you overcame such an obsticle.

Stay strong dear!

Britt said...

I love that you have so much to be thankful for, especially during a time like this. Have a wonderful holiday :)

Megan said...

You are such a tough cookie! And I love you for it.

I hope that next year you would have even more to be thankful for!

Stephanie said...

So glad your dad is all better, that's huge. And Tilly and Sadie, those little love bugs - even I'm thankful for them this year, they make me smile every time I see them!

Cassie said...

happy thanksgiving new friend!
you have a great heart and good things will come your way. xoxo!

Lexi said...

I'm so sorry that you've been having such a stressful go of it! Keep your head up and enjoy the holiday!
Lexi @ Glitter, Inc.

Jordan said...

I just want to be cheesy for a second and say how much I love coming to your blog and seeing you being strong even though you are going through such a tough time. Your honesty is refreshing. I wish you the best of Thanksgivings, even though it might be a tough one. With your attitude, I'm pretty sure you are going to come out even stronger and quite possibly a better person than you already are! Happy Turkey Day. xo

TheTinyHeart said...

I'm sure the holidays are going to be extra hard but concentrate on all those wonderful people in your life and lean on them if you need to!

-Sharon
The Tiny Heart

Kasey said...

Love this post!

I know you're struggling with the break-up and understanding it all, but you are doing SO amazing with it. I am so so happy your dad is healthy now, my grandfather has had multiple heart surgeries over the past few years and he is doing great too, I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful doctors out there!

I also think it's great that you're working on your relationship with your mom...cherish every moment with her.

Remember that God puts us through things for good reason, maybe He is putting your love life on hold so that you are able to spend as much time as possible with your mom and repairing your relationship with her. The only consistent thing we will ever have in our lives is our family. They are the ones who will be there through thick and thin no matter what :):)

And one day, you will be thankful for new beginnings...trust me :) You're on the right track, girly!! I'm routing for you :-D Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Holly said...

You have been through a lot, sweet friend. I'm glad that you are finding the positives and focusing on them. We all have something to be thankful for, even if its just getting up in the morning, and I'd say you're doing much better than that :) Lots of hugs from Ohio and happy turkey day!

Tiffany said...

You are dealing with this so gracefully, and for that I am thankful. Your ability to reflect so positively is truly inspiring!

Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo

Because Shanna Said So said...

Hold you head high, keep your chin up and continue to have faith in Him. We are all here for you. And look at everything that is on a roll...you are an inspiration. Love ya, lady! Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Have a good Thanksgiving!! :) Surround yourself with those closest to you. Maybe that will help you get pass Dec 15th without tears. Smile you deserve to be happy!

Unknown said...

I love this post about all that you are thankful for. I think it is amazing how positive and strong you have been and though it's easier to say than do, I know you will at some point be ready for wonderful new beginnings!

Anonymous said...

I love you and just want to tell you to keep your chin up and ALWAYS be thankful for the things and people God puts in your life and takes away. There is always the best intention and reasoning behind every single detail life has.

My-cliffnotes said...

This post was written perfectly! Happy holiday beautiful

Makaila said...

I love how you gave thanks for it all.. It's important to not just ride the highs and forget the lows. Have to dig deep to find them sometimes, but the lows can provide gold nuggets for life, like this post, to be thanksful for. Great perspective chica. Happy Thanksgiving!

Makaila said...

I love how you gave thanks for it all.. It's important to not just ride the highs and forget the lows. Have to dig deep to find them sometimes, but the lows can provide gold nuggets for life, like this post, to be thanksful for. Great perspective chica. Happy Thanksgiving!

Why Girls Are Weird said...

Thank you for what you said about your mom. It is so important to make the most of the relationships we have with our family, even if they haven't always been the best relationships. Life is so short.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving hon.

Laura Darling said...

I'm so happy that you have great best friends to stick by you during this time! I hope you are able to enjoy the holidays! I'm sure good things are coming!