When I think of the things I am thankful for, I think of basics like a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and the love of family. you know, the typical cliche of thanks. Without those things I would not be able to sit here and share what it is I am truly thankful for and for that, I am thankful.
In no particular order:
*I am thankful for Butte and Tulo. Without dogs in my life, I would not be the person I am. I have always had a dog. The longest I ever went without one was while in college on the other side of the mountains for three years. However, I still had a dog to come home to, to recharge the fuzzy love I so desire. After our dog Coco died almost 3 years ago, we went without a dog for nine months before Butte joined our family. Butte was my birthday gift after spending a much needed break in NJ with family for the summer. I was not home for my birthday and a month later my dad drove me down to a shelter and the moment my eyes laid on Butte I knew she was the one. Tulo came almost a whole year later. B and I started dating about 6 months after I got Butte and one month before B proposed, I found "greyhound puppies" for sale on craigslist. I was super sneaky and called the breeder up and set up a time to visit. I then told B we were doing something special and as we pulled into the neighborhood I told him what we were really doing. His eyes lit up and we picked Tulo out among his 10 brothers and sisters. B actually picked him out. I wanted the all white girl. I had never had a boy dog before but this was his thing and I wanted him to pick out the perfect puppy in his mind. It worked out great. Tulo is a special, smart dog that we are so in love with. He and Butte are the best of friends and we are hoping they will enjoy the newest addition.
* I am thankful for my marriage. Not just being in love and not just being in love with B. Being married means so much more than just loving someone. Of course we love each other with every fiber of our being, but it is not love alone that keeps us strong. In the year and a half that we have been married, I have learned so much more about who I am as a woman and even more what it means to be a wife. We rarely fight or argue and when we do, we hate it so much that we talk it out right away. We cannot sit in silence for more than 30 minutes without finally saying something, apologizing, suggesting something to solve the problem-anything. Our marriage is not based just on love, but also on our friendship and our love for God. We are best friends first, husband and wife second and this makes our marriage so fun. We are playful all the time. We make each other laugh. I am so thankful to have married my best friend.
* I am thankful for my job. I work with seniors and I never imagined that would be a field I would work in. I had always veered more towards childcare and nanny jobs. I worked in a high school. I want to be a teacher someday. But working with old people? Never would have thought about it. I feel extremely lucky with how I got my job. My job at the high school was ending. I was working on a temporary basis, meaning job renewal in the fall would not be an option until the school year started up again and I could not wait that long without a job. I had a coworker who's wife worked where I work and was told about the over night job available. Another I would have never considered! But I was desperate. So I called them up, got an interview, and waited. The first phone call I got told me I did not get the job, simply because I had 3 weeks of school left and could not start right away. (yeah right like I'd work over nights AND days...I don't think so). So I moved on. Two weeks later the same coworker let me know that the person they had hired did not work out. I only had a few days of school left so I sent an email to the person who interviewed me and let her know I was still available if need be. I got a phone call a few hours later and had the job!! I was so happy! Within 6 weeks I was working days and getting to know the residents. I have continued to get to know all our residents and truly love them all. I have always respected my elders, but not in the way I should have. I never understood seniors until I was faced with them, learning about their likes and dislikes, their pasts, how much they love their families, their previous jobs and college years. So similar to my experiences to date, but so different having been in a different time. I understand them now and I have learned to be patient with the things that used to bother me. I am so thankful for my job and the blessing and change it has brought to me as a person. I am different, and hopefully better, because of it.
*I am thankful for our unborn child. The blessing to become a mother is my ultimate dream come true. I already met my dreams of graduating college, marrying a handsome loving man, and living independently with said man. Now I just needed to become a mother and all would be well in the world! Well, here I am, seven and a half months pregnant with our first child and my grateful heart is exploding. I cannot stop thanking God for this blessing. It is hard for me to imagine ever doing anything else after our babe is born. I am so thankful that he is healthy and that I am healthy. Sure the scares are heart-stopping, but they are also humbling. I hate the thought that anything could possibly go wrong, but I am not going to be naive and think that is not possible. It is and I am so thankful to have this time with my unborn baby. I am thankful when he moves, when he sits on my pelvic bone, when he causes the worst back pain I've ever had, when he is silent and worries me, when we hear his heartbeat and when we see his sweet cheeks on the big screen. Those sounds like the bad things and while I am the first to start complaining about the back and pelvic pain, I am still thankful because it means I am still pregnant and that I am going to be a mother. I would do this a hundred times over just to know I would have a healthy baby boy. There is no feeling like that. I have never experienced that kind of unconditional love before and for that, I am thankful.
Sure this list could be longer, but this is what my life revolves around. This is such a special season for us and like I said in my last post, we cannot wait to meet Mister and the change that is soon to come!!
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