Hello and Happy Thanksgiving!!! I absolutely can not fathom the fact that we’re already pretty much a month away from 2018. 2017 has honestly flown by and it’s so crazy!
I’m going down south for Thanksgiving, so I’m actually writing this a day in advance, due to there not being any internet down there! I also want to make sure I get this posted and, not necessarily out of the way, but checked off of my things to do. I hope that’s coming across how I mean it. Keeping up with my blog isn’t a chore, at all, but more of something that I feel inclined to do.
To put it simply: when I’m inactive, even for a day, I feel like I haven’t been active in weeks. But, I realize that I do need to take breaks and I need to experience “life” if I want to have things to write about.
So, back to the actual post.
As I walked around a nature park, with my siblings, today, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratefulness.
I had my perfectly healthy siblings walking beside me, the fresh air and beautiful scenery that I was able to experience with no problem and I had all of the means to get us to the park, to start with. I’m blessed.
I could have the memory of a lost sibling, lost senses and no car, but I’ve been favored and I am so, extremely thankful.
The drive home was a moment that I used to reflect on this entire year. In doing so, I was reminded of all of the things that I’m thankful for, this year alone, and my heart was immediately filled with appreciation and gratitude; two big qualities that I always aspire to have and portray. As I’ve done quite a bit on my blog, I’ve created a list.
This list is composed of just a few of the many things that I have reason to be grateful for, this year:
1. I am thankful for the life that I am filled with, each and every morning that I wake up. Honestly, we’re not promised tomorrow. I, unfortunately, have witnessed the deaths of people that I have loved, who varied in ages. Many people expect to die of a natural cause, but, if we’re real with ourselves, each day we live, we risk death. I’m grateful to have even seen and lived the experiences I have because many have not even passed the stage of birth and lived life, outside of their mother’s womb, at all. It’s heartbreaking, but it’s life and life can suck like that.
2. I am extreeeemely thankful for the family that I have. Although my family can be a little crazy and overprotective, at times, I know they all mean well and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. Each time I encounter someone who doesn’t have much family, has lost someone they loved or who never had any family to begin with, I am immediately reminded of just how blessed I am to have a family, at all. On the behalf of those previously mentioned, if you have a family, please, treasure them like it’s the last moment you’ll see them. Going back to #1, you never know when your last moment with someone is. To add to this, I am also extremely thankful for my sister, Liz, and her reintroduction into my life. We had a lot of catching up to do, but it seems as though nothing ever really changed, except for the things that we separately experienced.
3. I am EXTREMELY grateful for my crazy, wonderful friends!!! I haven’t had very many friends who genuinely cared about me, in my lifetime, so I’m constantly reminding myself to appreciate those that are currently in my life. Every laugh, smile, joke, tear and experience is treasured more than even my friends know. That includes you, Rach 😉
4. After having recently read an article on education in other countries, I realized just how privileged I am to live somewhere that provides “quality” education. Many children and young adults, in some areas, are unable to finish school or even attend school, period. I think it’s easy for those of us who live in “better off” areas to take seemingly simple concepts, like school, for granted, solely because we’ve never had to go without. From the moment we were of age, to begin school, to day that we finish, we never once had to worry about whether we could afford it or whether it would be socially acceptable. I’ll keep it at that, otherwise I’d go on all day. So, even though I really despise school, at times, I constantly remind myself that I could be in a position where I’m unable to receive an education, at all.
5. I am more than thankful for all of the “extras.” I don’t have to have parents that love my siblings and I enough to make sure that we are never in need, who pay the bills and provide a roof over our heads; I don’t have to have a reliable car that I never have to worry about, aside from the basics and occasional maintenance; I don’t have to have a job that pays me enough to make all of my payments, purchase gas and support all of my leisure activities, all while keeping up with school, church and my family; I don’t have to have any of it, ya’know? And just that simple statement is enough to add to the fact that I am BLESSED.
So, as I experience yet another Thanksgiving, I am reminded that I need to remain thankful and grateful because I am blessed.
What about you? What do you have to be thankful for?
I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and, to those who do not celebrate, have a fantastic day because you are as equally amazing!!! Appreciate those around you and that wonderful food before ya 😉
Always desire to inspire.
Haylee Dean
stumblingaboutourworld 