It’s the last day of Thanksgiving week, and I’m sitting here feeling grateful for the time off giving me permission to reflect.
Thanksgiving looks different for each of us. Some spend it surrounded by family, others spend it on their own. I’ve lived on both ends of the spectrum, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that what matters most isn’t the number of people at the table. It’s the time off we’re given to look back at the year almost gone, and remember what we’re grateful for.
So I did the exercise too. I looked back on a year that started with a heavy heart. Losing my mother on the last day of December. Returning from her funeral to find out I was also losing my sweet cat, Lucy.
Yet, even in heartbreak, there’s still gratitude hiding if we look closely enough.
I’m grateful for the three extra weeks I got to hold Lucy in my arms before she left me. The vet wanted to put her down that day, he told me she had a couple of days left at most. But after we left the clinic, she decided to walk again and stayed with me a little longer. I will always treasure her gift, our bond in those last weeks felt stronger than ever.
I’m grateful I finally got the chance to stage my long overdue performance Rhinoceritis in the Making, and for my three incredible performers, Tiffany, John, and Joel, who brought the work alive in ways only they could. I’m grateful that Lazara didn’t cancel the show because, truth be told, the audience was small. I’m grateful for every single person who showed up to support me, the ones I knew, and the ones I didn’t. It meant a lot to me.
I’m grateful for my job and my studies — the structure, the distractions, the sense of purpose they offered when everything else felt too heavy. For my colleagues who make even the heavy days feel a little lighter. For every participant in my research study who trusted me with their story and helped me complete my dissertation and my program. For my friends and girlfriends, my best cheerleaders, always ready with laughter and love.
I’m thankful for my brother. I’m thankful this year I got to spend this holiday together. I’m thankful for our three-week road trip all the way down to Key West. I’m grateful for Jeff and Pat from Continental Transmission, who got my car road-ready at the last minute. They’ve been angels to me more than once.
Sneaking in a pic with my brother making faces (he hates being on camera). In Atlanta, at the MLK Memorial, with my girlfriend Michelle behind the camera.
And I’m grateful for all the things I got to see, touch, and smell this year: the ocean, the beaches, the palm trees; the cats and chickens wandering freely through South Florida; the sunrise over the Atlantic… and the divine smell and taste of my morning cup of coffee.
And of course, I’m grateful for my health and my resilience. Without them, none of this would have been possible.
Thanksgiving is the holiday that signals the beginning of the end of yet another year. Instead of feeling sad about what’s missing, I’m choosing to feel grateful that I’m still here — alive, breathing, witnessing all of this, and thanking you for being part of my world!