Thanksgiving 2006

For the first time in 5 years, I'll spend Thanksgiving with my family & it does feel sort of surreal. Yes, I'm sure it sounds strange that I've not spent Thanksgiving with my family (as you're supposed to spend the day with the family over a hearty meal), but it's not because I live too far away from my family or I've had a major falling out. For the past 5 years I've always had to work on Thanksgiving. I used to work a retail job & for whatever reasons (probably to try to beat out the competition) the store would be open regular business hours on Thanksgiving. I was always the unlucky one to work the 1-10pm shift. Anyway, now that I don't have to worry about work today, I can take a bit more time & relfect about the things I'm thankful for on this day of giving thanks.

1)My Health: I'll say that I'm in much better health than I was about 5 years ago. I'm more concious about my eating habbits & I make a point to exercize regularly. As I mentioned in last year's Thanksgiving blog, I used to work with disabled adults & I current work processing disability claims & to see the struggles these people go through on a day to day basis is heartwrenching & I'm glad I'm not in a similar situation. I'm not sure if I could handle the anguish & discrimination of being disabled.

2) My Family: Although we don't see eye to eye on many things & I don't really see most of my family that often, I know my family loves me & looks out for my best interests.

3) My Friends: As I've said in previous blogs, I'm truly blessed to have a large quantity of quality friends. I know if I were ever in trouble or needed help they'd be there for me. I'm also happy to mention that my # of friends has increased over the past year & with each new friend comes new experiences. I'll even mention how I'm thankful that I've been able to make amends with a few ex-lovers & proud to say they're among my list of friends.

4) My Job: I'm thankful that I am employed & in the past year I've made great improvements. I'm also thankful that I only have to work ONE job which now allows me the free time to spend holidays with the family & time with my friends. Although I'm not making tons of money & can live a lavish lifestyle, I can say that I can live comfortably with my current salary.

5) My Significant Other: I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful boyfriend. I've had such a blast hanging out with him & I look forward to many more fantastic times. He is really a great, sweet, carring guy & I'm not sure if I can say it often enough.

All in all, I'm thankful for this life & the above things that make my life so worth living. Ok, I think I've said enough because I need to start getting ready to see my family on this Thanksgiving holiday.