This year...has been difficult, to say the least. I don't want to harp on the trials and tribulations of the year, I frankly don't want to think about them. I have talked at length about my feelings about the current state of the world, both in a previous holiday post and my recent musings on the results of the United States presidential election. Right now, I want to talk about the things that have kept me going when it felt like the ground was slipping out from under my feet.
I am grateful for my family.
My mom, dad, brother, and sister are the people I have always known I can rely on, and who I know I will always be able to rely on. These past couple of years have not been easy for my family, we've seen major upheavals in health situations and career changes and moving across town and across the state, but through it all, we never lost the feeling of being a family. It's cliche and it's silly, but my family makes me think of the Lilo and Stitch quote, "Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten." I couldn't ask for anything better.
I am grateful for my boys.
My partner and my son are my favorite people, no questions about it. My partner has seen me through some of the hardest parts of my life, from again health situations to personal crises to the silly things like a bad day on the job or a frustrating bit of paperwork. He's the reason for my smile most days, and I love him more with every passing hour. My son is...well, I don't have the words. He's brilliant and funny and caring and sweet. He's learned to spell his name and count and take apart the vacuum cleaner (much to his father's annoyance). He makes me so proud with everything he does, and I can't wait until I get to see him again.
I am grateful for my friends.
I hit the jackpot with the group of people I've gotten to call my friends in the past couple of years. They're brilliant people, more talented than I'll ever be, and more wonderful than I can ever express. I'll never know what I did to deserve the love and support of such fascinating, clever, funny, kind, selfless, talented people but I'll thank God every day that I have them.
I am grateful for my work.
The fact that I sit down every day and do what I love as my job is one that I still can't wrap my head around. I love to tell stories and share them with others, and I have been lucky enough to find that there are people willing to listen to them. I'm never bored with my work; some days I'm writing personal blogs about my life, some days I'm writing fantastical works of fiction, and some days I'm writing about Jeff Goldblum in Skyrim. Everything I do gives me an opportunity to learn more about the things that I love, and I couldn't be happier about that.
This Thanksgiving doesn't look like normal Thanksgivings. To keep each other safe, we stay away. Some celebrations are much smaller, and some aren't happening at all. Still, I think it's important to take a moment and appreciate all of the things that help us feel more normal in a time that is anything but.
Stay safe, and happy holidays.
