Blessings

I seriously wish I could take the Thanksgiving that Darrell and I shared and relive it everyday--like the classic movie Groundhog Day. It was so wonderful to just be together and relax. And let me tell you, after the three-day Thanksgiving marathon that my family celebrated, I could use another full day of relaxation. But alas, another work week has begun, and it is quickly spinning into the chaotic holiday season, so for now I will just hold onto that memory and dream of more days like it to come.


Before this holiday season gets totally out of control, though, I do want to list a few things that I am thankful for. I know I don't always cherish these things as much as I should, but hopefully when life gets a little too crazy and I start to throw a pity party for myself I can always look back on this and remember how great I really do have it.

• My wonderful husband, who cooks and cleans and does all the other things I should be better about doing myself (or at least helping with). He is also eternally patient with me, and I can honestly say he's made me a better person (who knew red peppers were actually delicious??)
• My family, who, despite their craziness and ability to turn Thanksgiving into a three-day affair, are always supportive. I heard a co-worker say today that every year around the holidays she pledges to patch things up with her brother, but never quite gets around to it. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that
• My in-laws, who have treated me like a daughter and a sister since I first met them. I always get annoyed when people make the general assumption that "no one" likes their in-laws because I love mine dearly 
• My friends, many of whom have been there for all of my major life events, from the first day of kindergarten to my wedding. It's so wonderful to still be close with a group of girls after so many years. And of course, there is nothing like new friends who will allow you to borrow a car for a week while yours is (still!) stuck in the shop, for the mere exchange of a plate of cookies
• Our house, which despite being located in freezing SD (winter weather advisory today, joy), is absolutely wonderful and so perfect for Darrell and I. I also feel incredibly blessed that we were able to purchase a house at a fairly young age (we closed just over a year ago), and a lot of that is due to great support on college loans that allowed us to graduate debt-free
• Our jobs, which we are both happy with and where we have pretty solid job security. And truthfully, even though both of us working two jobs isn't completely necessary financially, our part-time jobs are at such an incredible organization that we don't really want to give up being a part of it

I know there are more, but that covers all the major ones. Even though I know I will inevitably complain about each and every one of these, deep down I do truly know they are a blessing. And I promise, there will be less sentimentality next post; this whole sappiness thing just isn't really my style