On the Matter of Gratefulness

There's nothing quite like weathering a storm and coming out unscathed to make one grateful. I know Thanksgiving is a time for people to remember to be thankful, but I'm thankful that the storm has passed. You know how tough this year has been for me, and there were times when I doubted that the Sun would ever shine again. And yet, it has. It finally has.

I'm still easing into my normal day-to-day existence, but by-and-large, everything is as it should be again. I look forward to my four-day Thanksgiving break every year, and this year was no different. On Thursday, I cook a big feast, on Friday, I do nothing but relax and eat leftovers, and on Saturday, I hike. I headed out to Neale Woods, my favorite local hiking spot, early Saturday morning for a solo hike. I got four miles in, making sure to take some treacherous terrain to help me burn some calories and release any stress and tension from the past few weeks. It was a good thing that I did because the weather was nice and a snowstorm was on the horizon for later in the evening.

As I hiked, I had ample time to ponder upon my life and I have to say, I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for days like these when I can commune as one with nature and hit my reset button.

I'm grateful for a handful of wonderful friends that have been there for me every step of the way, listening to me, giving me words of comfort & wisdom, and just being there for me.

I'm grateful for the trips I got to take that helped ease my wanderlust.

I grateful for my children who are an endless source of wonderment and love.

I'm grateful for a job that puts food on my table and that affords me a set of the greatest co-workers I've ever had the pleasure of working with. 

I'm grateful to be alive. Life is amazing, even when it's not.

There are plenty of other things I'm grateful for, but these are the ones I consider the most important. Without these things, I'm not sure how I would have made it through these last several, turbulent months. Truly, reasons to be grateful.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and that you have a reason or two to be grateful as well.