May 14th

Today I'm grateful for gentle reminders.

I commonly read articles from a site called Thought Catalog. (I use the term "article" loosely as some of them are just lists of life hacks, advice, quotes, etc.) One of the "articles" I read today was called 17 Things People Born In The Late 80s Are Currently Experiencing. The last item on the list was: Slowly recognizing that you’re no longer developing into someone, but you’re identifying the someone you’ve developed into. Now, I believe that I will continue to develop over my lifetime, but this just reminded me of a bigger reality that REAL LIFE IS RIGHT NOW. I sometimes get stuck in thinking that some future event or circumstance has to happen in order for me to participate in "real life" or to "officially be an adult." Maybe that was a big leap to make, but I appreciated the reminder to live and enjoy myself in the present.  

May 13th

Today I'm grateful for friend catch up time.

My dear friend and roommate and I managed to squeeze in some awesome quality time this evening. We ate dinner and drank a bottle of wine sitting on our westward facing balcony watching the sunset. This was our first opportunity in what felt like way too long time to catch up. I'm especially grateful since I know she had a very long to do list and she chose to ignore all her tasks to hang out with me. Already looking forward to our next bottle of wine together.     

May 12th

Today I'm grateful for Hendrick's Park.

I walked/hiked up to Hendrick's Park on my lunch break today to check out the rhododendrons. I haven't been up to the park in years and never in spring when they're blooming. It was a quick hike since I only had an hour, but it was beautiful and such enjoyable way to spend some time in the sun!

May 11th

Today I'm grateful for my mom.

I'm grateful for my mom every day but today she gets special recognition. My mom is a wonderful woman who has always been there for me. From driving me around to sell Girl Scout cookies, to traveling to numerous soccer and softball games, to letting me cry on the phone through stress and heartbreak, to giving me perspective (and sometimes that means telling me to get a grip), to always taking me out to dinner or planning special menus for me, to paying hospital bills after completely avoidable injuries, to always being my emergency contact, to reading this blog, to buying me clothes I don't need, to unwavering and unconditional support and love. Thanks, Ma. I love you.      

May 10th

Today I'm grateful for wine tasting.

As part of my weekend with my mom we went wine tasting. I took her to a vineyard she hadn't been to yet and we had a great time sampling new wines and eating fancy cheese and bread. We enjoyed the sun, and endured the rain, and then enjoyed the sun again, and then endured the rain again, etc. As a result we did get to see some pretty awesome rainbows. 

This was taken during one of the sunny times, but you can see the rain in the distance.

May 9th

Today I'm grateful for the lack of access to cable television.

My mom was visiting this weekend and she treated herself to a hotel room. I checked-in to her room before she arrived and had a couple hours to myself before she got there. I indulged and spent my time watching a couple shows that I would categorize as "trash TV." I've grew up without cable TV and get sucked into shows quickly and easily. It was entertaining for the few hours I indulged, and definitely a guilty pleasure, but I'm glad that it's an every once in a while activity rather than a habitual activity.  

May 8th

Today I'm grateful for friends that feel like family.

I was in the dining room at a friends house playing Catan with three other friends, a couple other friends were in the living room watching the Blazer game, and one more friend was in the kitchen baking cookies when somebody mentioned that he felt like we were a little family. I've been thinking about this comment and the more I ponder the more it resonates.

In the past year I feel like I've been through some pretty major transitions, specifically from full-time student to full-time employment. I had to make a big choices about where I wanted to live, what field I wanted to seek employment, and how I would spend my time between 5:00pm-8:00am and on weekends. There have certainly been challenging moments but I'm overall I'd say I transitioned fairly easily and successfully. It's been helpful that I chose to stay in Eugene and my friend group didn't have to be rebuilt. In fact, I've been able to spend more time and energy on friendships since I don't have the constant stress of schoolwork pressing on my shoulders. I'm so grateful for this as I feel like I've had the opportunity to create, deepen, and maintain some really meaningful relationships.

In recent months, I've been going through some minor ups and downs and I have multiple friends, from different circles, and from literally around the world who have showed support and encouragement. I have such a wonderful community of people who I can lean on and it makes me feel very fortunate and grateful.

Perhaps another reason I'm feeling grateful for my dear friends, especially lately, is I am anticipating some significant losses as a few close friends are moving away toward important opportunities. I wish them all the best and I think they are making good choices, but a teeny tiny part of me wishes they would stay forever just so things wouldn't change.

Since starting this blogging project, this is not the first time I've been grateful for different friends and friend groups and it certainly won't be the last.