Thankful Thursday Week 2

Yesterday was a rest day, that is the polite way of saying that I did not get anything I had planned or hoped to accomplish done yesterday. I am Thankful that I have learned to embrace those days and accept them for what they are. I took the opportunity to reflect on 2015 and what it meant for me. Today my friends and classmates took a very important exam. The New York State Massage Therapy State Licensing Board Exam.  While I am a bit disappointed to not be taking the exam with them, my energy and efforts are better focused on the positive. That being, I did not study over the break from school 12/12/14 through the New Year. I enjoyed that time with my family. Then I studied a small amount before I received notice that I was ineligible for the exam. Sure the information is fresh in my brain (after all I spent the last 6 months trying to cram it all in), instead I am taking the next 7 months making sure that I do in fact know all the information that I need to pass my board exam. 

I am forever grateful for my long time friend Jennifer, because it does not matter what direction our lives take us, or how long we are apart. We simply need a telephone and twenty minutes.  This past weekend we had the opportunity for a long over due Girls Weekend.  We reconnected and shared over a bottle of wine, some SNL, Empire and Gone Girl.  

I am thankful that on Tuesday night when I was taking out the trash I listened when I was compelled to look up. The winter night sky was clear and crisp. The stars were bright and beautiful.  

I am thankful for the wonderful people who keep falling into my life, some for a brief period of time and others for longer. It seems (a friend confided in me) that I have the best luck and know all the right people. 

I am thankful for the friend who pointed me in the direction of a much needed opportunity.

I am thankful for the friend who shared with me books when I had run out of reading material. 

I am thankful for my new Oakworks bag for my table.

Thankful Thursdays

Remember when I declared that I was going to post for Thankful Thursdays? Well here we go. 

Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in the month of November. More and more information is coming to light about the story of the First Thanksgiving. Some groups are devoted to getting to the roots of the tradition and preparing what would be a "traditional" meal. 

My mother traces her roots to the Iroquois tribe of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and while I have always been drawn to the traditions of indigenous people I feel that my connection is more to the nature aspect of those traditions. I love that Iroquois and other Native People have a profound connection and reverence for nature and the spirits of those gone before us.

Personally, I don't care what, when or where the original Thanksgiving is or was. I LOVE the idea of Thanksgiving. I love any opportunity to get together with family and friends and be grateful and celebrate LIFE and the future. 

So my goal is to be Thankful every Thursday of my life and that will carry over to the rest of the days of my life. People have said to me that I am a generally happy individual, and I let those people know that I have my dark days, but my hope is that I do put out a hopeful and positive outlook. 

Today I am grateful for the time we had with Twizzle. On Tuesday evening after a long weekend and 3 visits to the Vet's office, Lu had to make the hard decision to put down Twizzle. I am grateful that we had the long weekend with him and that because of the steroids he was on he was eating and for a day and a half that he was himself; active and loving. I am grateful for the wonderful Vets and Vet Techs who were so caring, not just for our cat but for our family. Dr. Straka called Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning just to check in, when I called in on Tuesday late afternoon we were told to bring him right down. I am grateful that Lu was able to be part of his last moments to say her good-bye and gain that perspective and closure. I am grateful to the Vet who treated him on Tuesday who has offered to do a paw print for her to have as a token of her beloved pet. 

I am Thankful that I have a home to live in, that my family is generally healthy and that my fridge is full of healthy, whole foods. 

I am Thankful for the Women Entrepreneurs United (WEU) for being a wonderful supportive group of women who share their souls and vitality with all the members. 

There is so much more to be Thankful for, but I want to make sure that each week I am being Thankful for something new and different and not repeating the same things. 

How about you? How will your life change if you start looking for those things to be grateful for instead of dwelling on the small negatives in life?