Here is journal entry #2 of 3. Don't worry, it is a much lighter read than the last one.... and, bonus!, you shouldn't feel like you need to take an antidepressant after this entry.
Saturday January 16th, 2010
So after pulling a muscle in my back and being in pretty severe pain for a lot of the week, I finally feel well enough to write again. And being that last week's entry was kinda depressing (I mean, how many times did I use the word "disappointed"?), this entry is going to be written on a much more positive note. This entry is dedicated to the many things that I'm thankful for from 2009.
#1. My marraige.
The end of 2009 marked the end of our very first year as a married couple, and it really was a great year. I am constantly reminded, with so many little things, of how lucky I am to have found such a great partner in life. He is really and truly my very best friend. The one I run to with good news or bad, the one I look to for advice, the person whose opinion I value the most. He is a caring, loyal, gentle person, and he treats me like the princess that I am (haha). I can be 100% myself around him, and because he is not easily offended or overly sensitive, I never feel like I'm walking on eggshells. We love and accept each other how we are, have so much fun together, and have the same life goals. Some people made me a little bit nervous before I got married, saying how everything changes, even if you've lived together first. I am happy to report that for us, that wasn't true. I loved our life before we got married, and our relationship is every bit as good now, if not better, than it was before. So, for my marraige, I am very grateful.
#2. My puppy.
Mike and I rescued our little Daisy dog in March of 2009, and she has been such a great addition to our family. She has taught us a lot about ourselves and each other, and we are both better, more balanced people by having her. (Thank you Cesar Millan!) Although raising a puppy is surely trying at times, her unconditional love melts my heart, and I want to be the best pack leader for her that I can be. (Can you tell that I'm slightly obsessed with the Dog Whisperer??)
#3. My sister.
I really should extend this one to include my family in general because I am thankful for all of them, last year and every other year of my life. But my sister is truly my sounding board for all things. I tell her everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I know she'll always give me honest feedback. I treasure our relationship and the friendship that it has become over the years.
#4. Travel.
Mike and I have been so lucky to do so much traveling during our years together, and 2009 was no exception. Now, don't get me wrong, we're not jetsetting to exotic places every other week or anything, but we do travel away from home quite frequently, and anytime I'm not home and working, it's considered a vacation to me! To name a few, we went to:
-Deep Creek, Maryland for New Year's with a bunch of friends
-Atlantic City to celebrate my sister's 25th birthday
-Cocoa Beach, Florida to visit my grandparents
-Savannah for a night and Charleston for a night on the way back from Florida
-Little Gasparilla Island, Florida for a spring break
-our hometowns in PA several times
-Annapolis, Maryland to run a half-marathon on our one year anniversary (funny story)
-my cabin with the fam in central PA
-a Beer and Wine Festival in Virginia with friends over the 4th of July
-the beach of NC with Mike's family...and then again with my family
-Penn State for a football game
-Bahamas for a work conference for Mike
-and finished off the year going to my sister's house in Philly for the first time for Christmas
Whew, we are traveling fools if I do say so myself!
#5. My job.
I am a nurse at a teaching hospital, and I know how lucky I am because I truly love my job. I enjoy the challenge, the comraderie, the sense of accomplishment, all of it. And my flexible schedule of working just 3 twelve hour shifts a week is what has afforded me the luxury of all of my travel without having to take time off of work. Mike has similar scheduling flexibility, and for that we are blessed. We have stable jobs in this uncertain economy and we know how lucky we are. A friend once said to us "You are the only people I know who have to fit in work in between all of your vacations, and not the other way around". Crazy, but true!
#6. Our house.
We bought it in 2008, not 2009, but we have done a lot to it this past year. By saying "we" have done a lot, I really mean we hired people to do a lot, because handy is one thing we are not. Sorry Mike, but let's just admit it. Our big projects of 2009 were granite countertops in the kitchen and redoing the deck in the backyard (and adding a hot tub to the top tier of the deck!). Our house is perfect for us right now, and we both truly love it, which is so important.
#7. My health and the health of my loved ones.
Now, although Mike jokingly calls me a genetic degenerate because he claims that I am "always" sick (not true I tell you!), in general I am blessed with a healthy body. Sure, I may get colds more frequently than most, my allergies are a never ending annoyance, and my knees bother me from time to time while running. But really, in the scheme of things, these things are so minor. My family is healthy, my friends are healthy, and I am healthy, and for that I am so grateful. This really hit me hard this past year while I was at a memorial service for a co-worker's husband. It was truly an awful situation, and when I looked around the funeral home I mentioned outloud to some other co-workers that I had never been to a funeral home before. They all looked at me in utter shock. Yes, I had never been to a funeral home before that day, and to this day I have never been to a funeral. This isn't because I refuse to go; it's because I have never had someone that close to me die. (I can't help but wince as I write this, but I don't believe in jinxing.) I am blessed to have all 4 of my grandparents active and healthy, along with everyone else in my family at this point. I know that this state of bliss will not last forever, and at some point my world will come crashing down when someone close to me leaves this Earth for the eternal life in Heaven, but for now I am grateful that 2009 kept me and those that I love in good health.
Whew, another long entry. Much longer than I anticipated, but I realized that trying to make a list of things that you are grateful for from an entire year is no easy task. It was a lot of general categories, so I felt the need to elaborate. I've decided that I'm going to really try to appreciate the little things in life, so I will incorporate things that I am thankful for more frequently. The categories won't be as broad, and I can stop and focus in every once in awhile on all of the little things that make life so amazing.
2 journal entries down and one to go. Then I can move on to real time blogging just about whatever might be going on in my everyday life. Can't wait to start!
No comments:
Post a Comment