There's much to be thankful for. Not just because it is almost Thanksgiving. Although we usually express more gratitude at this time, I try to find times to be grateful throughout the year.
Specifically in April, Stefano and I took a long awaited trip to Key West. It had been put off for 2 years. Thus when we were fully vaccinated we boarded a plane to the tiny island of Key West. Where I truly felt grateful to be alive. I didn't hold back the whole trip. We indulged in delicious food, wine and just the general routine of being alive.
We didn't have a timetable. We just went with the flow. I actually finished a book. That is a gift in and of itself.
I looked around the pool at the other, I would think, grateful people that were able to travel and couldn't imagine my life without travel.
I came back from our trip with a new outlook on life. I made a point to express my gratefulness with friends and family when I came home. It was a feeling I never felt.
Fast forward to the summer when Stefano and I visited family and friends in Florence. It was another trip full of hope and love. We were lucky that we could take the time.
Stefano's Dad has been going through chemo and it's been quite a hard experience. We didn't hang out with his dad and mom as much as we'd like but we were present with them. A part of me still thinks we should have planned that trip differently. However it turned out how it was supposed to.
We got to see our lifelong friends after a pandemic and thankfully everyone is healthy.
This year proved to me that there is so much more to be grateful for than family. There's things like the tree outside my window that I get to see change season. There's the love of my kitties everyday. There's the strength i've pushed through to accept myself with compassion. There's the willingness to push my dream through everything that holds me back. There's the risks I took to further grow my business. Thanks to my friend Chelsea for allowing me to come on her Wanderful Retreat.
Our trip in September was AMAZING! I went back into my old patterns of when I used to live in my beloved Florence. I wandered the streets of Castiglion, I sat and just people watched and I enjoyed each moment I was in Italy.
Again, I was lucky.
I went to Italy twice this year. TWICE. I've never done that since moving back to Chicago.
I'm so grateful for this life. This moment. Where I am. What I am doing. Who I am with.
Life is beautiful.
What are you grateful for?