Things To Be Thankful For

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Marco and I did not even know that we would be in Vancouver for this holiday, so we were pleasantly surprised when our sister-in-law invited us for dinner with turkey and trimmings.

Thinking about Thanksgiving made me ponder on what I am thankful for at this moment in my life.

First of all, I am thankful for finding this wonderful photo on Guildwood Gardens, which blog owner Gisela kindly let me use to illustrate this post. The photo contains a lot of the things that I love: fall produce, apples, Canada, flowers and colourful leaves!

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I am thankful for Reese, Jessi, Fiona, Sarah, Aimee and Julia, who kept you entertained while I was on vacation. It felt good to know these ladies were willing and able to help me out. It was nice to have a little blogging holiday. Which brings me to another big item for thankfulness: I am thankful I started a blog this year and for how many connections I have made by doing that. How amazing it was to be welcomed into this community with open arms. I am very happy to have met some lovely people through blogging, some of which feel like friends to me now.

I am thankful for being able to spent some time in Vancouver, visiting with our family over here and meeting my new little niece Georgia. I am thankful for my sisters-in-law, Vanessa & Toni and their cooking skills! I am thankful that my parents-in-law, Butch & Sylvia and Marco's brothers, Nino & Giulio, have warmly welcomed me into this family when I first met them all. And I am thankful that my family back home in Germany has done the same for Marco.

I am also very thankful that Marco and I are both healthy and have good jobs and a home, were our two cats are waiting for us to return from our absence. I am thankful that we are able to travel, and that I actually have found somebody to do my travelling with. I am thankful for my husband's love and understanding.

I am thankful for slowly starting to know and like myself better. I am thankful that I have realized that I want more happiness and contentment in my life and I am thankful for the people who are helping me achieve this. I know that somewhere along this road of self-discovery, I will meet the real me. Even though I am impatiently waiting for this day, I know that taking it slow is better for me.

All-in-all, there is a lot in my life that I can be thankful for. Friends, family, new experiences, good food, love, knowing of things and places that will make me happy when I consciously let myself enjoy them.

Sometimes all I need is this awareness, and then suddenly all my worries and insecurities seem slightly silly and a lot more manageable.

Sometimes all I need is a vacation and a dinner with family to realize how good I really have it.

Sometimes I need a day like Thanksgiving to remind me of what's real and important in my life.

I hope that I can make the notion of Thankgsgiving last a little longer than just the one day.

And I hope that there are things to be thankful for in all of your lives, too!

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