Gratititude Challenge: Week 3
Hello Friend! Welcome back! I’m thankful you’re here.
So, big news! I went back to work this week! (See Monday’s gratitude post for the spoiler.) Both Hollywood strikes are over now, and everyone has a green light to return to work while the deals get ratified by their respective unions. I got a call from my workplace the day after the strike ended to go back on Monday. That is a platinum gratitude sentiment for this challenge. (Shout out to anyone who watches TrekCulture on YouTube.) Let’s resume this challenge for Thanksgiving and continue to remind ourselves what we are thankful for this year.
November 12: I am thankful for Waffles’ distant cousin. His name is Kringle. They are similar in age, only about a month apart. We met through our DNA testing servicer. I got Waffles’ DNA testing for free from her vet’s wellness plan and they have a feature that you can see if your dog has any direct or distant genetic relations. You can choose the level of privacy you like and whether or not to allow messaging. I was interested and ended up being contacted by another pet owner and we met up in a well-populated public park (because safety) and the meeting turned out great! I’m delighted Waffles got to meet a cousin of hers and it was so interesting how much they look alike even though their connection was distant.
November 13: I am thankful for my job. Its very frustrating to by stuck for the 2nd time in 2 years waiting for your job to come back due to no fault of your own. It messes with you. And trying to sit in the discomfort and work through the fact that my self value is not dependent on my employment is hard because you want to contribute and you want to do activities and that usually requires and income. So this day I am thankful for my job because I can resume my financial goals and ease the stress off of my partner with the household funds and contribute again.
November 14: I am thankful for the leap of faith in myself I took in 2018. I left the Midwest in 2018 because I had no local job opportunities and no reason to stay after my relationship there ended. I had a choice and I chose to move to Los Angeles for better work options. I packed all of my stuff and moved most of it into storage and packed whatever I could fit into my car and drove across the country alone over the span of a week to Los Angeles. This photo is from the middle of the Colorado Mountains at a rest stop inside of a canyon. The scenery was so beautiful and there was a beautiful river running through the middle of it. Actually, this moment in 2018 may become the focus of a future post. There’s a lot more to talk about with this.
November 15: This is piggybacking a little off of the previous day. I am thankful for Kara @kkreations. So remember that leap of faith I took? When I was trying to figure things out, I realized, I could not afford to pay for storage for my belongings. I was venting on the phone to her about it because it was a big decision that I didn’t think I could manage to pull off successfully. But Kara graciously offered to open up her home and store my things for me. She had some empty rooms in her house she hadn’t filled yet and said it was no problem at all. Without her help, I would not have been able to leave the Midwest and the bad situation I was in. She helped store my stuff for almost a year before I was able to find a new place to live and afford to have it moved across the country. This woman is a treasure and I am so thankful for her kindness.
November 16: I am thankful for a work trip that took me to Singapore. This was pre-pandemic, so I was able to enjoy the city just a little bit before I had to go do my job. I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of the city that I got. I visited the fabric district and got coffee with my face printed on it. Singapore reminded me of a newer shinier version of Tokyo and I liked that a lot since Tokyo is my favorite city in the world. Singapore is clean, easy to navigate, and very tourist-friendly.
November 17: I am thankful for all of the beautiful sunsets I’ve been able to witness around the world. Sunsets are always a beautiful reminder to pause, take in, and appreciate the current moment. It is fleeting and you can’t just come back to it a little later because it will be gone. Sunsets are different depending on the location too. The saturation of the colors or the way the light bends is all a little bit different everywhere you go. My favorite place to see them is in the Mediterranean.
November 18: Today I am thankful for CPTSD Foundation’s Winter Holiday Support Program. It’s a free program where they email you once a day from November 1 to December 31. The email contains a message of encouragement to help you get through the holiday season if you find it particularly challenging time of year. Each day is different and once you sign up, you’re on the list for future years as well. I just find it to be a nice email to wake up to that helps me take a moment of pause and just exist as myself. It’s a good resource to have. Whether the holidays are tough for you or not. I thought it would be good to share with you too in case you ever need it. (P.S. This isn’t sponsored. I use it myself and figured maybe someone else might need it.)
That wraps up this week’s set of gratitude posts. We are less than a week from Thanksgiving now. Remember to give yourself the grace you need and be kind to yourself. You deserve kindness and love and fun. The next post will be after Thanksgiving, so I will wish you the Happiest and most wonderful Thanksgiving holiday to you!
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