Giving Reflective Thanks

So yeah, 2016 has been an interesting one for the books.  In the midst of so much happening around me, I had to think differently about what I was thankful for this year.

I am thankful for the obvious -- my family, my friends, having a nice house, enough food and clothes, the ability to go on vacation -- essentially I am thankful for being surrounded with loving people and living a middle class lifestyle.

2016 has been a year that has required me to examine you I am as a person.  Who do I want to be? How do I want to be remembered?  In 2016 I am thankful for the hard things.

I am thankful that Dave's employment got questionable and I went back to teaching.  I am thankful for my amazing co-workers.  I am thankful for the reminder that even though it is hard, I love teaching.

I  am thankful for my students.  They work so hard.  I watch those students with significant learning difficulties continue to try.  They show more grit than most adults.  I know that if I was in their position, giving up would definitely be the easier option.  I am thankful for the example they set for me every day.

I am thankful for the Pantsuit Nation.  It has been a ray of hope as I've struggled with the results of the election.  I am thankful for the inspiration to be a better person, to be willing to not be a bystander when I witness racist acts.  I am thankful for the camaraderie offered, to not feel alone.

I am thankful for those individuals willing to go to Standing Rock.  The irony of the treatment of the protesters as we prepared for Thanksgiving was not lost on me.  Again,  I am thankful for the example set by individuals who put the needs of others and the greater good before themselves.

I am thankful for the hard questions posed to me about my faith.  I think it's important to reflect upon where I am in my journey.  No one ever said being Catholic was easy.

In the end, I am thankful to 2016 for the hard questions it posed.  There have been a lot of sleepless nights.  It is my hope that in a year I can look back at this year of gratitude and know that I used it to be a force for good in the world.  That I stopped letting others being an agent of change and led by example.

Big goals, big hopes, and lots of thanks.

And here are a few pics from last night with the family at Thanksgiving.  Robin only ate a roll, but was thankful for all the food.  Eileen has officially become a turkey and cranberry sauce fan.  Linus still doesn't like Thanksgiving.  I offered him to take the Thanksgiving food challenge -- try a little tiny bit of everything and I'd pay him a buck.  Linus turned me down and his cousins looked at him like he was crazy.