We had a lovely dinner tonight — mom made a delicious gluten-free pumpkin pie. I made gluten-free stuffing and we sat down at the table and enjoyed dinner together as a family. I’m grateful for my family, I have a roof over my head, and people that love me.
I am also cat-sitting for my library co-worker. I am thankful that she trusts me to watch the kitties until Sunday and I am thankful that these three little loveys love me. š Tonight I am going to cuddle up with them and relax.
I wasn’t quite sure what to write tonight, I of course wanted to do my normal “Thankful Thursday,” but I always do something special for Thanksgiving. I looked at what I wrote last year in my old blog and honestly, I feel the same way as I did in 2017. Let me copy it here:
Happy Thanksgiving! This is more so dedicated to my American readers, though I know some expats celebrate in their respective countries. My Canadian friends still wish me a Happy Thanksgiving on their Thanksgiving Day (our Columbus Day) and on the actual American Thanksgiving. I think it’s just lovely to send well-wishes, even if the holiday is celebrated on a different day.
I will admit that in the past few weeks I’ve found it hard to be thankful. While I took the Canadian refusal gracefully a month and a half ago, now I’m wondering what is next. I can reapply at any time, but I need a new job here. What I really want to do is not offered in my area and I’m not sure if I want to move to New York City to pursue it. I want to pay off debt and IĀ have a feeling NYC is the last place on Earth that I want to go to pay off debt. While my bank is a Canadian bank, there is no guarantee of a transfer and I would be back to square one. I don’t need a job lined up, but having a job would give me 600 extra points and having a job would issue me a provincial nomination. For the government itself, I just need the money and full-time work experience. I’ve also thought about looking in other places, but it boils down to I need a new job and work towards moving out.
I suppose I should be thankful for this refusal in a sense. It’s making me look long and hard at what I want to do with my life. When I graduated from college, it was ten days after my assault case was dropped and I was still reeling from what had happened to me on November 7, 2013. I wasn’t in a good place at the time and it made functioning hard. I graduated with a writing degree and while I tried to move to a different state, it didn’t work out (I’m glad it didn’t work out, looking back). In April 2015, the senior centreĀ gave me a chance and I will always be grateful for their kindness. When the contract ended, I had to look for a full-time job. The career counsellors from WCU suggested finding something in my degree field. There are some writing jobs in this area, but you must drive for most of them. I don’t drive. I decided to take any job I could find and that is how I ended up at my full-time job now. While it’s something I don’t want to do for the rest of my life, I am thankful for the chance and it has proven my communication skills. I can use that experience for anything. I’ve been reading career and personality books to see what is next.
I am thankful for the people I work with at the library. My cousin is getting married on December 30th and IĀ needed a formal shawl to go with the dress I bought. I was telling Hannah and sheĀ mentioned that she had a few shawls that she could give me. On Tuesday when I went back to work, a bag was waiting for me. The one shawl she gave me is beautiful and I can’t wait to wear it for the wedding. I am thankful for Hannah’s kindness and I am thankful for my co-workers’ kindness in general. I love my library job.
I joined the website Thnx4.org to start a gratitude journal. I posted yesterday that I did something nice for someone at my full-time job. My co-worker was grateful for what we did. This is what I posted:
I made someone grateful today (11/22/2017).Ā My department bought her a bouquet of flowers since her sister died. I suggested the idea and put the plan in place. I also gave her a sympathy card and talked to her about her feelings.
I am also thankful for my family and friends. When my dad was working a later shift, he took me to the train station every morning. My dad runs me to buses, trains, and places I can’t go to by buses and trains; for that, I am truly thankful. I am truly thankful for dad getting me coffee in the morning, and picking up lunch when there are no leftovers. Tomorrow I have to get a liver ultrasound done (my liver ALT and GGT numbers are elevated; my ALT levels have been elevated for a year and my cholesterol is high – doctor wants to make sure my liver is not damaged before he prescribes another statin) and my parents will go with me. I have to fast (no food and water) for 12 hours and after, we will go to breakfast. I am thankful that they will go with me.
Friends! I am thankful for the funny card Marsha sent me yesterday and I am thankful for her friendship over the years. Christina! I am thankful for all that Christina does for me. I am also thankful for the love and support my friends also give me. That love and support, along with my family’s love and support, has been helpful.
Finally, I am thankful for life. I am thankful I have a roof over my head and while I kvetch about my full-time, trying to move to somewhere I truly want to live, it could be a lot worse. I could be living in squalid conditions or living in a place like Zimbabwe, Haiti, and other third world countries; while I want to move out of America and Donald Trump is horrible, we could always be worse. I am thankful that we do not live in the same conditions of those whose countries are falling apart, people are persecuted, and have no chance at life. We also have access to clean water, fresh foods, and healthcare.
I’m in more debt this year, some of it from seeing friends in New Jersey this summer, but my health is better for it. I am working to pay it off now and I am actively looking for new work. I am grateful for my full-time co-workers, I tried toughing it out this year, especially for the insurance, but 2019 is going to be the “new year, new me”.
I am still grateful for my friends — especially Christina, Claire, and Marsha. Like my family, they have been a rock through the health up and downs this year. Words can’t really describe my gratitude.
I also posted this earlier on the Happiness Box’s Instagram:
This holiday season, Iām giving thanks to Lyft drivers everywhere. Thank you for everything you do.
Back in September, I had an awesome driver named Nial. He was from the UK and we enjoyed chatting for about 20 minutes – it’s like we were old pals. That’s one thing I love about Lyft, also the fact they care and make sure I arrive to my destination safely. Nial agreed to a selfie, a great way to end a lovely ride filled with laughter.Ā #ThankYourLyftDriver@lyft
The Happiness Box Project 