Post-Turkey Day Reflections

Not gonna lie, I wasn't really feeling very thankful for much going into the holiday yesterday. Most of the past year has been really really hard on me. My health pretty much sucks and I am perpetually stressed, uncomfortable, and miserable. But I've spent enough time being sad and self-pitying about all that, you know? I have so much to be grateful for, if I just step back and think about it for a bit. The food in my refrigerator, the clean water running from the taps, the bed I sleep in, the roof over my head, etc. And despite feeling pretty low lots of the time, I am still perfectly functional, living a nearly full life with friends and family and school and work. Some people have such terrible health that they can't even get out of bed in the morning, much less bop around campus all day and live a busy, independent life.

We had a wonderful holiday yesterday. It was me, my parents, my brother, and a bunch of cousins, aunts and uncles all at my aunt and uncle's house out in the country about an hour from College City. The landscape was beautiful, and everyone was happy and welcoming and warm. Plus there were cute dogs to play with. I wasn't very adventurous with dinner - turkey, sweet potatoes, salad, roll - but I did have a couple glasses of wine and a big ole slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I was self-conscious about my weight for about five minutes, and then promptly forgot to worry about it. I have two female cousins who are within a few years of my age and it was actually amazing to see how healthy and normal they were. They are both tall, beautiful girls with rockin' bodies and super stylish clothes and fantastic appetites. Funny that we still have a "kids'" table at these family gatherings, even though the youngest "kid" is seventeen and the oldest is twenty-seven. Also kind of funny that only one of us (the poor seventeen-year-old) was pouting about not being allowed to drink. Used to be that only a select few could smugly have a beer while the rest of us watched in awe. Okay, I'm getting off-topic now.

I was feeling a bit better physically too - for some reason, my pain is always dramatically reduced the week before my period, which should be coming in the next few days. No idea the physiological mechanisms going on there, but that's usually how I can tell that my period is coming (because it's still pretty irregular) - the pain decreases and I get cramps instead, haha. I am probably the only woman in the world who eagerly anticipates PMS all month. Go hormones!

Anyways, I'm grateful for my family, for turkey, for PMS, for all the life essentials that I take for granted daily, and for a body that - while sick - still allows me to live a real life.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all, hope you are having a fantastic week.