22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 12 - My Friends

Every day from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am thankful for.

Day 12 of Thanksgiving:

Just a few of my friends - there are too many to show!
I'm a lucky woman to have so many people to call friends.

I am thankful for my friends, old and new. I'm fortunate and grateful to have some great friends. One of the things I love most about my friends is the diversity of them. I'm not one who has to be around people or have friends that are exactly like me. So while I'm a married Asian-American woman in my forties who is a Christian, a registered Republican, a "cheating vegetarian" who loves food and wine, dogs and all animals, and currently works part-time - I love that my friends are women and men of all ages. I have friends who are white, black, Asian, and Latino. Friends who are Republican, Democratic and Independent. I have friends who are straight and friends who are gay. My friends are Christian, some are Baptist while others are Catholic and Methodist and Mormon. Others are Jewish and Muslim, and yes I even have friends who are agnostic and atheist. I have some friends who are vegan, some who are vegetarian, but most who are meat-eaters. 

Some friends I've met through work, others I went to
school with, others I met on vacation.

A lot of my friends have pets and friends who don't like animals at all. I have friends who are busy career people, others who are in school - some who do BOTH at the same time and some who work two jobs to make ends meet. I have friends who are married, divorced, single, separated and widowed. Some friends who are retired and some who gave up their careers so they could raise their children. 

While my friends are diverse, the thing ALL my friends have in common is they are good people with good hearts and because they aren't exactly like me, I learn so much and gain different perspectives that I believe help to make me a better person. I am thankful for my friends.

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 5 - The Job That Allows Me to Play

Everyday from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am "thankful" for.

Day 5 of Thanksgiving:

I am extremely fortunate to work a company that's often called the "Happiest Place on Earth". In my current position, I don't have a big "important" job - not when compared to other positions I've held in the past. However, even though I don't have a position with a fancy title, big paycheck, office with a window or an assistant - I also don't have all the stress that went along with those types of jobs because I don't have the responsibility and accountability that went along with it... and I'm okay with that!

I've worked since I was 15-years-old. While I was in college I sometimes worked three jobs. So while I enjoyed having a career for many years, it's nice to not have so much responsibility for a change. My current role doesn't include a big paycheck, but the people I work with are some of the best! Not only are they creative, smart and fun, many have become great friends. And I am also able to enjoy and make "magical" moments and memories with my family because of my job, which makes me a HUGE hit with the kids! I am thankful for a job that doesn't feel like work.

Gratitude

Gratitude and Being Thankful

I saw this sign on being thankful one day when trolling through Facebook and reposted it to share with my friends.  I wish I could remember the page I originally saw it on, but I apologize because I don't.  I typically save photos with inspirational, motivational quotes that I like, then on certain days when one "speaks" to me, I re-share it with my Facebook friends.  A lot of times the photos will have a credit or source on it, but this one didn't so I am sorry and will try to remember to add a source the next time.  Any way...

Several years ago, I was watching the Oprah Winfrey Show (I know there are a lot of people who didn't love her show like it did, but I really felt I learned things from watching it so try to keep an open mind if you weren't a fan of hers.)  If you don't know about Oprah, she was someone who journaled regularly.  I was never able get into a regular habit of journaling although I had made several attempts over the years.  On one particular show Oprah started talking about keeping a "Gratitude Journal".  Basically, the premise of this journal (as I interpreted it) was that no matter how down you might feel, or how badly you think your situation is at the time, you should always be able to come up with FIVE things to be thankful for.  At the end of each day, you should write out those five things in the Gratitude Journal.  Through doing this, you'll start to realize you truly have MANY things in your life to be thankful for and you won't feel so down or awful about whatever your situation is.  

Well, I don't even really remember what I was frustrated about in my life at the time when I watched that episode.  I believe I was in my late 20's and think I may have been feeling like my life just wasn't what I had planned for it to be.  I probably wasn't in a dating relationship and I wanted to be married with kids, didn't love the job I had at the time, had a debt that I was having to work hard to pay off and I never had enough money to do what I wanted to do, you know... the usual frustrations of a single woman in her late twenties.  I was feeling sorry for myself and a little down.  I thought, "What the heck?  I should give this Gratitude Journal thing a try."  

I must admit, the first couple of times I had to think really hard to come up with FIVE things I was thankful for and I only came up with three, but honestly, I was making it harder than it needed to be.  They don't have to be super significant “things”, they could be ANYTHING , just as long as you are genuinely thankful for it (this is according to the Book of Donna).  And it's kind of fun to mix in things like "I am thankful for a husband who loves me and is supportive in everything I do" with "I am thankful for seeing the big burly man I saw running with his tiny toy dog because it made me smile".  I've been thankful for things like "discovering I had a flat tire at 10 am in the morning in the parking lot of the YMCA instead of 10 pm at night on some dark road" to "the military men and women who risk their lives to fight for our freedom" to "remembering to throw my umbrella in my purse" and "hearing an old favorite song on the radio that brought back great memories".  Oh, and I don't write mine in a journal - never was able to make that a habit, but I do "give my thanks" every night before I go to sleep before saying my prayers.  What I learned about doing this is:  When you're truly grateful for what you have, you'll be surprised how spectacular you and your life really is or becomes!  

Let me know if you already keep a Gratitude Journal or if you decide to start one, or if you just do it in your head like I do, and what you think about the process and if you gain any insight for it or through it.  Thanks for reading this - I'm grateful you took the time!