Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Days 29-30

Day 29: I'm grateful for free haircuts and pleasant company!

Day 30: I'm grateful for opportunities, and I hope that I get better at taking them.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Days 27 and 28

Day 27: I'm grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, conferred on me when I was 8 years old. I'm grateful for its guidance to and confirmation of truth. Even when my mind is swirling with questions and doubts, the Spirit nudges me in the right direction, and I'm really grateful for that.

Day 28: I'm grateful for technology to communicate with my distant family. I'm grateful that I can ride my bike with my husband to class. I'm grateful for cute clothes that make me smile. I'm grateful for stores so I can buy things I can't make. I'm grateful for the variety of friends I have, and especially for the time I get to spend with them (which has become much less frequent, unfortunately). I'm grateful that my husband is my best friend and fantastic for inspiration and counseling. I'm grateful that I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and know where to go for truth and reassurance of my value and purpose in life. I'm grateful to be feeling better today than yesterday.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 26

I'm grateful that I finally listened to my mom this year and saw a doctor about my ankle; I learned today that if I hadn't seen a doctor and gotten surgery, I would have needed my ankle joint fused for arthritis before I was 25 years old. 8 months post-surgery and 20 months post-injury, I have an estimated date of complete recovery - about 4 months to go.

(For readers who are unaware, I got a 3rd-degree sprained ankle 20 months ago and didn't see a doctor until a year later, when I learned that I had broken as well as sprained my ankle. Because it didn't heal right, I had surgery to fix it, and I'm still healing.)

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 25

I'm grateful for the little miracles every day, especially when we're doing the Lord's work. Writing in my personal journal and our family journal, healing some old wounds, and discovering ancestors that I feel connected to today.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Days 21-24

Day 21: I'm grateful for Z's zeal in keeping our sink clear of dishes and organizing the rest of the house. It's a great blessing for our home.

Day 22: I'm grateful for my big family and the fun we have.

Day 23: I'm grateful for perspective that tells me there's more to life than the present moment.

Day 24: I'm grateful for creative endeavors, and the fact that many Black Friday sales continue through Saturday, after the initial madness has died down ;)

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 20

I'm grateful for a job that helps pay the bills, that challenges me, and that gives me a chance to interact with so many wonderful people. I've definitely stressed about it more than once or twice, but it's a good place to be.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving: Day 19

I'm grateful for "second chances." I had a professor be very kind and nonjudgmental with me today when I forgot something silly, and in talking with Z about this new blog, I feel hopeful that I'll have a second chance with sorting out my education and career goals; it feels really humbling and peaceful.

I started another blog today that I'm using as a tool to sort of turn my academic life around. I started looking at post-graduate plans and it didn't look so hot with my current skill set, so I'm enacting plans to change that.