Thankful, grateful, blessed.

I try to be grateful throughout the whole year, not just when Thanksgiving rolls around. After this year, I'm feeling extra grateful for seeing it through to another year.

Since about last week, my lead teacher has been discussing what it means to be grateful and why we celebrate thanksgiving. We asked the kids if they knew what grateful meant, and a couple of them were close, but none hit it on the head. I phrased it as when you feel like you dont know what you would do without something, that's when you're grateful for it. Then we asked what they're grateful for and it got me thinking that as always, I'm grateful for music, Taylor Swift, Mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, my family, my friends, and you know the whole Liz special. But this year, I feel extra grateful for a few extra things.

Sadie recently decided the only way she would sit for dinner is if she wore my boots.

I've been grateful for Sadie Marie for a little over four years now. If you know me well, you're probably thinking, “But Liz, Sadie is three…?” Well, I found out I was pregnant on November 20, 2019, and as terrified as I was, I was instantly grateful for her and for the fact that I was even able to get pregnant. That was always a deep rooted fear I always had but never fully realized until I found out I was pregnant.

This year, I'm extra grateful for her because she's been teaching me a lot. She's been teaching me a new phase of parenting (y'all weren't kidding when you said three is worse than two), teaching me patience, and how to slow down and take in the moment every time her tiny little fingers wrap around your finger and you hear “lets go to Sadie room mama!” She's teaching me a lot about myself as well. Whether she ever realizes it or not, I will always be grateful for her improving my life in so many ways and forcing me into finally becoming a god damn adult like Ralphie has been begging me to do for a number of years now.

Since becoming a god damn adult, this leads me to the next thing I'm grateful for, my Jeffrey. We have been through the absolute ringer in the five years we have been together but there isn't a single other

Jeff and I at a wedding this summer

person on this planet I want to do this with. I'm so grateful we finally figured out how to communicate and that we both keep Sadie front and center no matter what life throws (hurls, yeets, pounds) us with. I'm grateful for those little moments when we both are really weird, those moments where we cant breathe from laughing, those moments when we both just silently watch Sadie be a human, and grateful that I finally brought extra blankets into our room because we both finally admit that you always steal the covers. You are my absolute rock, Jeff, and I genuinely do not know what I would do without you and your silly little self. I could go on for hours about why I'm grateful for you, but I dont want to boost that ego too much. Remember, you're turning 30 soon. Gotta save some material.

I'm so insanely grateful for all of the friends I have made at my job. Working with such an amazing team of women and men has been such a phenomenal experience and makes going into work so much easier.

I'm grateful for the friends I made in preschool last year, especially now needing you ladies as resources. I'm forever indebted to you all.

My co-teachers and I

My lead teacher, I cant even begin to count the ways I'm grateful for you. For already making me a better teacher, to being so magical with the class, to introducing me to so many new friends, and just being such a calming vibe for me, you have very quickly become one of my favorite people. I'm grateful for how well we have meshed together, for the grace you show me, and of course reminding me that there's no need to run to the bathroom, I can just take my time 🙂

I'm also grateful to my Ca, to who none of my gratefulness for work would be possible without. I truly would not be where I am today without you. I'm so grateful to have been a small part of such a big day for you as well. Love you always.

I'm thankful that I have found new hobbies as well. I've started watercolor painting, reading more, gaming a little more, and of course writing more. Ive been painting bookmarks, autumn leaves, graveyards, ice cream cones, and whatever else comes to mind. Its super relaxing at the end of the day!

Thanks to my lead teacher, I also joined a book club! I've been pushing myself to read more this year and figured this would be a great way to get that done. Its been really cool to actually talk about a book with others who have read it, not just explain books to Jeff lol

One of the books is actually inspiring me to write this blog more! The first book that im reading from the club is The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand and the main character runs a food blog, and hearing her write it and run it definitely inspires me to get more content out for you guys! If you want more content... I digress.

I've been gaming a little more, mostly with Hogwarts Legacy and recently back into Call of Duty Warzone. Names lizwadman on PS4 add me lol

I have so much to be grateful for this year, and hope this post starts to cover it. My goal is to let people know more throughout the year how thankful and grateful I am for them in the moment, not just during this time of year.

I learned quickly with my kindergarteners and my daughter that life is full of little moments, and you get to choose how that moment goes. You can choose to bum the kid out and not take the half a second to smile at them, or you can just quickly make that moment better for them by flashing them a very quick smile and hello. I'm grateful to have learned that lesson, and make a point every day to make every moment with kids the best I can.

Take a few moments to think about what you are grateful for this year. I've had a cold on and off for about a month now thanks to my kid and my students so I cant say im grateful for my health really, but I wish you nothing but health and happiness in the future. Show your appreciation for whatever you want in whatever way feels best for you :)

Feel free to let me know something you're grateful for! Happy thanksgiving to all!