Blessed x 10

I thought I'd take the opportunity, it being Thanksgiving on this side of the pond and all, to tell you all some of the things that I'm thankful for. Maybe I'll surprise you. Probably not. So, here we go, with 10 things to be thankful for:

1. Cats

2. Elsie, specifically

3. health insurance

4. my mom

5. Leigh

6. new friends and old friends

7. the OVR for my medical transcription courses

8. my good doctors

9. Diet Coke

10. texting

I can think of more things that I'm thankful for, too, but those are the first ten that came to mind. I'm not going to go trying to prioritize and make one more important than another, because that's too hard. I couldn't pick a "most important 10 things." I went to Justin's for Thanksgiving today and enjoyed spending time with his family. I got to meet his grandma's five cats, each of whom was sweet as can be. Tomorrow, we'll celebrate here with my sister, her fiance, Justin, and my parents. Later, after we've all eaten, my aunts and uncles will come over to spend time together since this is the first Thanksgiving without my grandma, and it's hard on everyone. Even without her here, I'm thankful for the 21 years I got with my Daw. She was truly one of the most unique, special people I've ever known. I'm grateful to be her granddaughter.

This year has been a hard one. I've gone through so many changes, graduating from college and leaving what had become my "normal." I've been through a hospitalization and another near one. I've struggled to get and stay healthy. I've dealt with uproar with my medications and adjusting and readjusting to changes in those. I started a new job and got used to going to work, only to end up out of work temporarily and not know what's ahead. I'm facing a surgery that scaring me. Hard year or not, I've been so blessed by the good things in life. God and my family are taking care of me, and with both of them on my side, I know I'll be okay.