Thursday, November 24, 2011

A Lot to be Thankful For



Happy Thanksgiving! What are your plans today? Are you traveling to celebrate with family? Hosting your own Thanksgiving feast? Hanging out at home? Chris and I are doing something totally new to us this year: relaxing. Since we grew up within 20 minutes of each other, our holidays are typically hectic affairs that last from morning till night. Last year we ate five thanksgiving dinners. I'm not exaggerating...five. In one day. So, this year a new tradition was born: we're staying in Pittsburgh, going hiking, making our own Thanksgiving feast (while listening to Alice's Restaurant), and maybe (just maybe) seeing the Muppet movie tonight!

I always love Thanksgiving though, no matter how crazy it can be, I think it's a great time to reflect back on the previous year, and count your blessings. 2011 was incredibly good to us, and while there were moments where everything seemed like it would fall apart, we still managed to scrape by. So-in no particular order- this year I am thankful for:

Having the most amazing friends ever. After typing that sentence, I sat for a few minutes trying to think of a way to compose my gratitude for our loved ones, and found no words. They worked their tails off at our wedding, they helped us pack up our lives when we were moving, they deal with our incredible disorganization. We love them.

New opportunities. While I was sad to leave the home we knew, I am so thankful to have a job that I love, and a new city to explore. As hard as it was to leave, I know it was the right thing for us. But it's not just a new job I'm thankful for, this year I was able to realize my dream of seeing a design go to production.

A roof over our heads. We moved to Pittsburgh sight unseen, to an apartment we had never stepped foot in. Things could have gone very, very badly. But they didn't, and every time I think about this, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Having a husband that's up for a little adventure. Oh what's that? We're moving 13 hours away from friends and family to a city we've never seen? No sweat. And for that I am thankful.

Our family. This includes cats.


What are you thankful for this year?