giving thanks!

Saturday night, nearly midnight.

I'm sitting in front of the computer, scrambling to finish this week's readings. I'm the most distracted when I sit here, but for some reason, this is where I get most of my reading done. I strive for the pages of my readings to look like this - pages filled with yellow highlights and little notes & reminders jotted down with pencil.

Growing up, Thanksgivings was never really a big event in my family (nothing like Christmas or our birthdays). I didn't really ask why then & I still down know why now. Ryan's family on the other hand, the perfect stereotypical holiday, trimmings & all. I have so many things to be thankful for this past year, my life has changed dramatically, I've grown up. We often overlook the little things that make us happy, that makes us unique & that draw out our personalities .. here are my little things:

(1) my aiden. It was around this time last year that I found out I was preggo. We told both our families at Thanksgiving. The reactions were mixed. Some thought we were too young, some were beaming in delight. It was such a tough time, filled with both good & bad emotions. But one thing that I can say for certain - regardless of what everyone's feelings & thoughts were - I was going to have this baby, no matter what. Look at us, one year later ... Aiden, you are the best part of me.

(2) my good health. I think this is something that I definitely overlook & maybe even take for granted. Although it does seem like I have this 24 hours, 7-days a week cold - my health is pretty damn good.

(3) marrying my best friend, my first love. I always knew, that it was going to be you. Even through our months apart, I always had a feeling, deep down inside that you were going to be the man I was going to marry. There's nothing I would change, nothing I would do over. But I could have never done this without you. I love you!

(4) sleeping in. a rare, (very rare) pleasure. But when it happens, instant satisfaction.

(5) my family. Even though my brothers, my sister & I are each 5 years part, we've always been a close, tight-knit family. I never knew it any other way & for that I feel blessed. My ma & dad raise us in a household that was filled with love, support, encouragment & forgiveness. We were taught to dream, to believe and to achieve. Even though we tease our parents about having favourites (because it's true!) ... we all know the kind of unconditional love they have for us.

(6) my long-lasting friends. There's just something about having such a bond. They're the kind of people that you can be apart from for some time, but the moment you get together - it's like time never passed. When I was younger, I always thought that I needed a multitude of friends. But as I grew, I knew that I only needed the ones that I would stick with me, no matter how tough things seemed. I could all my friends with the fingers I have on one hand, & I count myself lucky.

(7) my education. It's been a long time coming, but I can feel it. It still feels like I have so much work to do (maybe because I do!), but my degree will soon be in my possession. It's been tough, juggling between my studies, having Aiden & this 1st year of marriage, but everything's just in its place.

(8) our financial status. Although we ran a large MasterCard bill last month, I'm thankful for being financially stable. Especially with all the talk of a serious recession that's occurring in the United States, money does matter. I think I do, however, need to start putting things into perspective. Sometimes, it's like we feel like we still have all that discretionary income. But we're trying to build a family now ...

(9) our dreams. are made of BIG things. I don't think I'll ever stop dreaming.

(10) my creative juices. I am thankful for having the ability to express myself in various ways, in various outlets. I guess for the time being, my biggest outlet has been in the preservaion of our memories. I've grown out of the stage where I document all the heartaches of life & the bitterness of my teenage years. Having Aiden made me realize that miracles do happen, even to ordinary people.

(11) my thirst for learning. I share this greatly with Ryan. We always tell each other that if we were one person, we would be the smartest! Ryan being so streetsmart, having the common sense and the intuition and me being booksmart, having an alternate word for any word and knowing random facts of life. So maybe Aiden will be our genius baby! I'll never feel too old to learn.

Happy Thanksgiving.