What I'm Thankful For

We are all thankful for those we love but what else is there to be thankful of? I can think of a few...

Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for the ones I love and the ones I'm blessed to have love me in return, but when I thought about what I wanted to write about today, that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. I found myself thinking of much smaller things- smaller things that snowball and become life changing markers on the path of life. Like all the individual blades of grass that make up a meadow. Not following? That's fair, let me just tell you what I'm thankful for then.

I'm thankful for every step a single boy who James and I love like our own son takes. Because every step he takes means his still alive and trying, when I know there has been more times than not that he wanted to give up. I admire his strength and always want to honor it by being thankful for each step, because I know each was its own battle. A battle that led to him inspiring a children's book that will go on to help more children that have felt the way he did since he was young. His continuous steps led him to influence and touch so many people and I know he will continue to do so, but I'll always be thankful for the single steps.

I'm thankful for a friend who gets out of bed everyday even after coming out of an extremely hard last two years. If I was in her shoes, I'm not sure I would have survived. I find waking up to be hard during difficult seasons and when that "season" lasts for years, getting out of bed is something I will sing praises for- and she does so much more. Her strength inspires me constantly and her growth drives me to try and be better myself. She is going to keep healing and growing, but I'm always going to be thankful for her just getting out of bed.

I'm thankful for waiting just one more day before making a life ending decision, because waiting one day led me to finding the love of my life. You see, it's the small choices, small words, small actions that when added up are worth so much more than the big, grand gestures. I'm thankful that my Grandma messages me after every article I write because it feels like a hug from across the country and reminds me that there will always be someone in my corner. I'm thankful for all the tiny daily rituals that James has made for us so that I always feel loved and uniquely so. I'm thankful for "Anime Monday's/Family Dinner's" with my sister every week, where all we do is eat dinner and watch a couple episodes of anime together. It's so simple but is one of the highlights of my entire week. I'm thankful for my friend who sends me a good morning gif almost every day at work because it interrupts my racing thoughts and reminds me to take a breath.

Small things. Small moments that ultimately add up and start making up the picture that is who we are as individuals. These things matter and shouldn't be ignored. It's good to be thankful for people and things, just don't forget to be thankful for all the little things that led you to where you are with your relationships with other as well as yourself. The big things can make an imprint on us but it will be the little things that fill it back up. So, find your small things and be thankful for them along your journey. They are there for you without you realizing but become even stronger when you do.

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Speaking of thanks, thank YOU for joining us tonight for The Mess. I appreciate our readers every single day and can never thank you enough for what you've made for me here. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you didn't, shake it off and know there are a million little moments awaiting you to help heal it. Start fresh tomorrow, you got this, I believe in you. I believe in your strength for waking up, getting out of bed, and taking single steps. You got this. I will be back for you on Wednesday with some Nerdom! In the meantime, stay safe, stay thankful, and stay messy friends.