Thankful and Hopeful

The pause in school and activities this week has made me reflect on everything that’s going on. This week more than ever, I’m thankful and hopeful.

Thankful

I’m thankful for my family’s health. For without it, nothing else matters.

I’m grateful for my husband’s job. It has allowed us to stay afloat financially while the pandemic has adversely affected the travel industry.

I’m thankful for our house. We’ve never spent this much time in our house in previous years. This year, we made some home improvements to make it more comfortable for all five of us to live in.

I’m thankful that we were able to safely visit some extended family members this summer. I’m thankful for technology like Zoom and FaceTime that has allowed us to chat with extended family that we can’t visit.

I’m grateful that I was diagnosed with diabetes this year. I know that may seem like a weird thing to be thankful for. But, the diagnosis was a real kick in the butt for me, and these last few months I’ve been healthier than I’ve been in years. My 10-year-old daughter has been walking in the evenings with me, and we haven’t missed a night since we started two months ago. Our walks have been filled with adventures and meaningful discussions.

I’m grateful that people are thinking outside of the box to create joy during the pandemic. We just enjoyed a private Hibachi dinner on our back patio thanks to a traveling hibachi chef, and my kids will get their photo taken in front of a Santa inside a snow globe next week.

I’m thankful for Netflix. Seriously. If you haven’t seen The Queen’s Gambit, I highly recommend it.

Hopeful

I’m hopeful that the Covid vaccine will bring back some normalcy to our lives in early 2021. While of course I’m hopeful that my family can resume doing the activities we love (especially travel), I’m also hopeful that we can resume the interpersonal connections that we’ve been so desperately missing.

I’m hopeful that people will show more compassion towards one another despite their differences. The other day, a college friend reached out about our friend’s mother with a brain tumor who needed a house repair. Within a few hours, our group of friends and sorority sisters chipped in to make the repair happen.

What makes you thankful and hopeful this week?