A Thankful Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for? Every year around this time, we are encouraged to be thankful. Thanksgiving is a national holiday that is celebrated and it is supposed to be a time of reflecting on the  blessings we have received. I don't know about you, but I don't take the time to be nearly as thankful as I should be considering all of the blessings that I have in my life.

I write this as I am warm in my home snuggled up in my pretty embellished sweatshirt with olive skinnys and a flowered blouse. My feet are toasty in striped socks wearing slippers. I hear my son and his cousin downstairs playing video games and I smell cookies freshly baked. I am going over to some friends' house later tonight where we will indulge in pizza and snacks and desserts and drinks and play games. Our children will laugh together and play and make memories of their own. 

You get the point- my life sounds pretty great, right? How many times have I stopped to think about the saying that " the greatest things in life aren't things" ? I am always so convicted that I have so much and yet think so little of it- almost like I have a right. I work, don't i? I worked hard in school and at my job to get to this point in my life, but I am not entitled to any of it. 

This year, I am thinking about what I am thankful for that has happened this year. I think my biggest accomplishment was running a 5k in September. I have never been a runner nor would I consider myself to be an expert at running, but I set out to accomplish a goal and I did it. I am thankful that I have legs and feet and the stamina to keep at it even when I wanted to quit. I plan to run a 10k now in April next year. 

I'm thankful for new friends and relationships I have made this year. We changed small groups and these two ladies in the group with me have become very close friends of mine. I treasure our friendship and the relationships that our families have made as well. I also started an Instagram account and have made friendships with women in the fashion community. We look to each other for advice on how to look better as well as health and well-being. While most of these women I will never meet, I am grateful for the friendships we have made.

We were able to get out and go camping six times this summer and had a blast! We were also blessed to have strengthened relationships with friends with whom we camp and we enjoy spending time with. We were able to go to Universal in Orlando for a week and spend some time with my sister and her family. I was also able to travel for a few trips alone, one of which I got to see my friends from elementary school - and we are trying to do this on a yearly basis. 

I am thankful for my job since I have now been in this role for a little over a year. I have made new friends at work and have learned so many things! I appreciate all of their help and support as I transitioned into a different area of the bank as well as a new role. 

I am thankful for my immediate family. For a husband who loves me even when I am crazy and overreacting and a son who shows unconditional love to me. He even wrote an essay at school recently about me and I nearly lost it...how this old crazy lady could be his hero or someone that he admires baffles me but I am thankful for the love we have for each other. 

There are so many other people and things that I am grateful for but I just don't have the time to mention all of them.

So you see, while I enjoy looking nice and shopping and posting fashion pictures and all of that, I really need to focus more on what and who I have in my life. I will try to do more of that going forward. Every day is another chance to do better than the day before. I will still continue to do all of these things but I will do it with a more grateful heart. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Thanks for reading and following along! 

Sandae