Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US, and while it was a difficult day – the first one without Pops – it was also a good day. I thought it would be fun to recap my day the way Amber usually does for her Canadian Thanksgiving, recapping everything she did and listing out what she’s grateful for. Here we go!
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I woke up on my own a little before my alarm was set to go off and decided to spend that extra time reading before I needed to get up for the day.
I am so thankful for my love of reading. Reading sustains me, encourages me, comforts me, makes me think, and makes me laugh. I would not be the person I am today without reading.
After spending some time reading, I got up and got ready and then headed over to my mom’s. We went on a long, hour-long walk with Chip. It was 60 degrees, sunny, and so, so beautiful.
I am thankful for my relationship with my mom. We grow closer and closer as the years pass, and I wouldn’t trade our relationship for anything. She’s the best mom and the best friend I could ever ask for. I am thankful for Chip and how he has helped stitch my heart back together after it was shattered from losing Dutch. And I am so thankful for clean, healthy air. It never crossed my mind to be grateful for that until I watched news story after news story about these terrible California wildfires and schools and businesses closing because it’s just too dangerous to even walk outside.
I left my mom’s apartment a little after 10 and zipped right over to Starbucks to order a peppermint mocha, my very favorite drink that I wait for all year long. I had great service, the kind that put a smile on my face.
I am so thankful that I am financially stable that I can order a drink from Starbucks whenever I want. There was a time in my life when even a $5 drink was out of my budget. I am also very thankful for peppermint mochas. 🙂
I came home, drank my peppermint mocha while posting to Instagram Stories and scrolling through social media, and then got ready for Thanksgiving dinner while listening to a podcast.
I am thankful for social media and podcasts – two things that help me feel less alone. Social media helps me connect with people and share my life, while podcasts keep my apartment from feeling too silent. Podcasts have also opened my worldview, encouraged me, and kept me laughing even on days when I thought laughter wasn’t possible. I am so, so thankful for the joy that podcasts bring me.
Our reservations for Thanksgiving dinner were at 1 p.m. at a restaurant downtown, and it was my first non-homecooked meal Thanksgiving. It was… weird. I don’t particularly enjoy all the work that goes into Thanksgiving dinner – the cleaning, the meal prep, the cooking – so I wasn’t sad to give all of that up for a restaurant meal, but it was still a weird experience. My brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews came to dinner (sadly, my stepdad had to work) and it was nice to have a very low-key meal. I have a big family, so Thanksgiving can typically be overwhelming and overstimulating for me, and this was the opposite of that. So, in that respect, it was nice. The food was pretty delicious, although I wish I could have gotten a to-go box for leftovers, haha. But still, nothing beats a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. Maybe next year… or maybe not. We’ll see.
I am thankful to have family to celebrate the holiday with, family I love and who fills my heart up. Family can be difficult… probably the most difficult aspect of the holiday season, but I’m glad to have my family. The boys were cute and fun, and it was so nice seeing my brother (the last time I saw him was at Pops’ funeral, sigh) and chatting with him.
After dinner, we strolled through downtown for a little while to walk off our meal. There was a Christmas tree and lots of Christmassy decorations to look at. We took family photos in front of the tree and then watched the boys chase each other for a little while.
I am thankful for the gorgeous weather that allowed us to walk outside without a) shivering or b) sweating. It was the perfect temperature yesterday! I am also so thankful for my nephews who made me smile and laugh on a difficult day.
I arrived back home a little before 3 p.m. and I immediately took off my makeup, got in comfy clothes, and slid into my bed with a book. And then I napped for… oh, three or so hours. YES.
I am thankful for napping! Oh, man, do I love a good nap. I look forward to my naps and feel zero guilt about taking them. It’s one of the perks of singlehood – napping whenever I want. I take advantage of this any time I can.
After a wonderful, long nap, I took time to post to social media (including a very cute post on Chip’s account) and then had a low-key evening. I watched a few episodes of Friends, ate a snack, and colored.
I am thankful for TV shows that help me take my mind off my sadness whenever I need it to – and Friends has definitely helped me through this season of grief. I am thankful for coloring because it’s one of my favorite methods of self-care. And I am very thankful for chocolate chip cookies. 🙂
The end of my Thanksgiving was spent working on this blog post and reading blogs. It was the perfect ending to a rather emotional day!
I am so thankful for this blog and the joy it brings me. I have recently realized how much blogging truly fills up my life, helps me to feel less alone and sort out my feelings. I’m not sure what my life would look like today without blogging!
Other things I’m thankful for this year: football, my cute apartment, the ability to move my body in the way I want to, medication that moderates my anxiety symptoms, proactive doctors, a job I love, sweet friends, online shopping, my comfy couch, kittens, travel, and homemade pumpkin bread.
What are you thankful for this year?
I’m glad you had a great Thanksgiving. Holidays can be so tough after losing a loved one but I am glad you guys still had a great day together. I’m envious of your warm weather! It wasn’t too bad here but definitely not warm! Now it’s just plain cold. It was 16 this morning and the high is 21. Womp womp!
We had a really nice Thanksgiving day, too. We went to Phil’s mom’s for the day. I was nervous about her making comments about Paul’s eating. She’s made a lot of comments about how he should be eating more solids, etc. We are trying so hard to get him to eat more but you can only do so much when you have a strong-willed little guy. Luckily she did not make a single comment about his eating so that was really nice. And he actually chewed on some food, but didn’t really ‘eat’ any of it (he pretty much will only eat purees that we feed him – he’s not into chewing and swallowing food yet). His favorite things were asparagus and pickles. Such an odd duck! Phil’s mom and brother had so much fun watching Paul army crawl and play with toys. He’s at such a fun stage. And I enjoyed snuggling with Paul while he napped. He doesn’t sleep well in new places so I laid down in the guest bed with him. He’s not very cuddly now that he’s so busy playing and exploring so I relish the times when he snuggles with me!
I’m thankful for lots of things but #1 on the list is Paul!
Aww I’m glad you like that style of recapping your Thanksgiving! I kind of did it by accident one year and then loved it so much I’ve kept it up.
I’m sure this Thanksgiving was especially tough for your family being the first one without your Pops. I am glad you all were able to get together and I think a low key restaurant meal was the right choice, even though I can see why you would miss the homecooked meal! Maybe next year! Also yay for naps!! I was not very good about “sleeping when the baby sleeps” over the last year. The #1 advice everyone gives you. But yesterday I did have a 2 hour nap while Olivia napped and that was amazing!!
That colouring page is so pretty! Love it.
I love this format! And reading it!
Yay for the gorgeous weather you had that day. That walk with your mom sounds splendid, as does the later outdoor time with family.
I hate all the work of prepping a big meal. Hate it so much. I appreciate that other people enjoy it, but I do not. That being said, I can still understand why a restaurant meal would feel odd, especially not having the leftovers – those are the best part!
AMEN to being thankful for naps. I would LOVE more of them in my life.
My big thing I am thankful for this year is meaningful conversations and relationships. I’ve noticed a lot of our required together time with certain people is not fulfilling and it makes me sad. And it makes me appreciate the fulfilling stuff even more! I get that from blogging too. It’s so fun to connect and learn through each other.
Ok, that sounds like the best Thanksgiving ever… with all the things you love!