Thankful 2017

Each year at Thanksgiving I take some time to reflect on what I am the most thankful for. A few years ago I started counting down the 10 moments of the past year I felt thankful for. This year was a mountain of confusion and emotion, but with that came the best moments. So here they are: the top 10 moments I was thankful for.

10. Sitting at the bar in the Minneapolis airport after Christmas at home drinking a Todd the Axeman while flirting with the bartender, and nearly missing my flight. So grateful for the ability to see my family and the ability to go back to a place I know as home.

9. Anti-bullying day hugs from kids- We all wore white to symbolize peace. I realized that my students love me and I love them. Maybe this teaching thing isn't so bad after all...

8. I am happy run in Kazakhstan- Kazakhstan and I started off a bit rough, but the weather was so gorgeous one night that I took a run and noticed all the little things around me. And little things are what I fall in love with.

7. Dancing on the beaches of Greece- No, I was not at a club. Yes, I was totally alone and crying out of fear that I had made the completely wrong decision for my future. And yes, I subdued the fear with this beer.

6. CC- the Rock while hiking: Another Sunday of hiking and I discovered a new favorite place. Piling layers of clothing on top of a rock to stay warm I basked in the sun with a new friend. The start of a new chapter of my life.

5. Saturday lying in the sunshine on the floor grading papers and realizing I love you. And the note goes something like this: I'm currently sprawled out on my floor with twelve reading continuums and a cup of coffee. The internet is down again, and I'm laying in the autumn sun as my 15 cent butternut squash roasts in the oven. My mind wanders to you, as it always does, and I think about how crazy life is to have placed me here, happy and content and so totally head over heels in love with you, who is thousands of miles away in a place I will be in two short weeks when you are no longer there. I'm happy. I'm content. And I am still so desperate to wrap my arms around you, and spend my mornings cooking you breakfast, and my evenings dancing around the kitchen while we scream karaoke songs at the top of our lungs. I have no idea what my life with you would be like with you, yet in my heart I know it would be everything. I am content and happy, but you are still the missing piece.

4.Rafting in Tara Canyon- Nature, Rakia, Laughing with friends, Rakia, Campfires, Rakia, cards, rakia, rafting down a river in freezing cold water, rakia, dancing around trying to stay warm, and rakia. What more does a person need in life?

3. Sunset with Chris- After a week of having an old friend from college visit me we went to watch the sunset on our last evening together in Montenegro. I didn't know when I'd see him again, and it had been an emotionally exhausting day, but the whole week just seemed to remind me that sometimes you have incredible connections with people, and that these connections are what make life totally worthwhile. "Every decision you make is right."

2. Leaving Montenegro- As I walked down the street on one of my last nights in Tivat I noticed a shadow that was cast across the road and and I thought about how insanely comforting this home had become to me in a time when I truly needed somewhere to grow into me.

1. The countless sunsets and reminders they brought me about the depth of life and the importance of staying true to yourself. The hours spent staring at this sky will never be wasted.