Halloween is over and it is officially “the season of gratitude”. If you don’t believe me, please visit a Target store. You’ll be sure to see pillows, t-shirts, and coffee mugs littering the aisles, adorned with words like, “blessed, grateful, and thankful”. But what does it all mean? Well, I guess that depends on your perspective.
If we’re being honest here, I’ve been struggling recently. If you read my last blog, you’ll remember that I’m very new to my company and trying (desperately) to prove my worth. My husband has also just started a new program at his company and we are raising two, very young children. By the end of the week, my energy was low and I was in a bad mood. So, I called my best friend. She suggested that I come with her to a holiday craft show she was working for the weekend. She told me it would be good to get away and punch out, plus, she could use the help. I begrudgingly went.
On our way up, my friend mentioned that three other girls would be joining us. The prospect of meeting new people felt overwhelming. I just wanted to sit in a ski lodge by myself and eat cheese but, here we were! The girls would be arriving late on Friday because they had an engagement party to attend Friday night. I would meet them at our Airbnb in the morning, after my friend left for the show.
On Saturday morning I woke up at 9am (maybe the latest I’ve slept in since college). With some hesitancy, I stepped out into the living room to meet the other women. They were all from a town where I used to live, so, right away we had a lot in common! We spent the next several hours chatting and sipping coffee. We talked about mutual friends, old stomps, good skin care products, kids, love and challenges we were facing. Over the course of the morning, I learned so much about each of them. They shared everything! The room was alive with the energy of four women and two pots of coffee…Something you can only understand if you’ve stood in its presence. They told me their life stories. They had endured things. They had complex relationships. They worked hard. They were funny. They were smart. They were strong. They made me proud!
I was starting to see that they needed this too. We all felt that we had been through something. As a woman we are expected to be so much, but never too much. We are always walking a line, reading a room, deciding if it is our time to speak up or shut up, THIS, our exhausting, never ending task. There is a lot going on in the world right now. We were all struggling in our own way, but here we were, having fun, and supporting each other. Slowly, I could feel myself coming back to center. I was relaxing. I was going to be ok. I was grateful for these women.
If you want to talk to me about gratitude this Holiday season, I could seriously go on and on. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, and it’s sometimes overlooked but, I’m grateful for the women in my life. I’m grateful for my grandma who is in a framed picture in my kitchen, wearing pants, and ice fishing in the 1930’s. For my mother who refused to say the words “I will obey my husband” in her wedding vows (I should mention my parents have been married for 45 years). I’m grateful for my sister who despite everything, marches to the beat of her own drum. I’m grateful to have a daughter who is “a real pistol”. I’m grateful for my friends who will always shoot me straight and have taught me how to evolve as a woman…My girls and I are growing old together and it’s absolutely fabulous!
No matter what side of the table you are sitting on this Holiday Season, remember to take a moment for yourself. Take a moment to reflect on all of the good things and all the good people. Keep your chin up and keep your heart full of gratitude.