This video was just too good to not share.
Day 30- Gratitude Project
I’m grateful for the time I get to spend with my bestie. We’ve got plans tonight for her birthday that was earlier this week. She’s a super busy single mom, working and going to school.
But I’m grateful that she makes time for me, and that we are generally on the same wavelength. We are so much alike, but also so different. We make a great team and I’m so thankful for her and her influence on my life. She’s been with me through thick and thin for several years, we even have a side business together.
She travels a lot for her day job, so we see each other pretty infrequently, but when we do, it’s like no time has elapsed. I’m incredibly fortunate and look forward to being crazy old ladies together.
Happy birthday Hellvis. The best is yet to come!
Day 29- Gratitude Project
Today I’m grateful for something most people would find strange, a chronic illness. When I was 25 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I’ve lived with this condition for a decade now and I can’t say it has been great. However, as I was thinking about the challenges this week, I realized that part of the challenge has been my fibro symptoms. As anyone with the condition knows, there are a variety of symptoms ranging from depression to widespread pain and fatigue. I’ve been experiencing all of these that I just mentioned. And of course, these things compound on each other. You’re depressed, so you have a bad day, so you’re more depressed, so you have a worse day, so you’re depressed further… It just never ends, until you make the conscious effort to end it.
Last night I had to apologize to my husband because I was just in a crappy mood, and snapped at him for not being a mind reader. I realized that the weather has been affecting my mood, as has my flare-up. It’s been compounding all week and even this morning I recognized that I’ve been just all around feeling terrible.
Since I was thinking about it this morning on my way into the office, I now recognize that I’m grateful for this condition and everything that comes along with it. The reason for this is that having Fibromyalgia forces me to A) be more in tune with my body and mind, B) reminds me that I need to take time for self-care regularly, and C) provides me the opportunity to acknowledge and be aware of how I interact with those around me. These things are constantly forcing me become a better version of myself and for that, I’m grateful.
I’m thankful for opportunities to improve myself, my mindset, and my attitude. To put a spotlight on areas that need improvement can sometimes be frustrating, as I do not always want to admit that I have shortcomings. But at the same time, it allows me the chance to be better. My perfectionism really likes “improving”, even if it is at the chagrin of my ego. I am grateful and embrace the chance to be better for myself, my family, and the world at large.
Day 28-Gratitude Project
For some reason, this would not post for me yesterday… so I’m posting it now.
Today I’m grateful for the fact that I work between two sites. They’re a few miles apart from one another, but I’m glad I had to go to the other site this morning. I’m grateful for the few minutes I was able to relax, regroup, and rock out in the car.
This morning was challenging. This week has really been tough in general. But today was enough for me to want to get in my car and drive away from my job and never come back. It’s not the job, and it’s not my boss. It’s one of the other managers that’s creating a hostile work environment. I used to love coming to my job. It’s challenging and fulfilling. I really enjoy my work and almost everyone who works here.
But this week has my wanderlust in a frenzy. When I get stressed out and upset, I want to go away from the problem. So, upon thinking about it and writing it out right now, I should be grateful to this manager for creating an environment in which I do not want to stay in. She’s motivating me to do something else. Now the question is what? No matter what it is, I want to do it for myself. I’m not interested in having a ‘boss’ any longer. Regardless, I’m grateful for the time away from my desk and the motivating to GTFO.
Day 27- Gratitude Project
I’m grateful for my mom today. Like many moms, she has stuck by me, even if she didn’t agree with me. But beyond that, she and my grandma taught me everything I know about hard work, dedication, selflessness, and most of all, family. Both of them are/ were the hardest working people I’ve ever known. My grandma passed away when I was a teenager, but she taught my mom everything, so my mother is a direct reflection of her in my eyes.
Yes, my mom has plenty of shortcomings that make me crazy, but even though the world has been on a personal mission to beat her down, she’s never lost her ability to dream big. Sometimes, too big, but I digress.
Mom is a hopeless romantic, even if men have treated her terribly. She’s made it her life mission to escape her childhood and become a Ph.D. By the end of this year, she will achieve that goal. She has taught me that even if the chips are down, never give up, and keep working hard.
Because we were poor growing up, she taught me how to budget, live on little, appreciate what I have, and to be resourceful. She also taught me everything about being a fiercely independent woman in a world where fierce women are not appreciated as they should be. I can do anything, simply because my mom never let me forget it, and never ever gave up on me.
Throughout my life, she’s been my biggest advocate. She sat in 18 degree weather, outside mind you, to watch me play roller derby. She missed one bout (the word for game), in the 9 years I was playing. When I was in high school and I was being tortured, she was there, standing up to the administration because they stood by the perpetrators. She lied to my guidance counselor so I could graduate from that godawful place early, because dropping out was not an option. I’m grateful she pushed me toward getting an education, even though it hasn’t exactly panned out the way I want.
She’s pushed me to be the very best person I can be, someone whom my grandma would be proud of. She never lets me forget how much she loved me, and reminds me all the time that she would be so happy with the woman I’ve become. I’m grateful that she never lets me forget her.
I’m grateful for all the challenges in my young life, as they prepared me for adulthood quite well. I’m grateful that my mom was there, showing me how to be a productive member of society, but never losing the ability to dream big. My grounded, responsible nature sometimes thinks she’s batshit crazy, but I guess we all need that in our lives too. I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful for my mom and her guidance. Plus, now that I’m an adult, we can hang out and have drinks together and talk about everything and nothing. As we get older, the more like her I think I become, and the more like longtime friends we can be. I’m thankful for that too.
