Quick question. Is it also exactly one degree in your house right now?
Oh good. So glad to hear I’m not the only person that’s frozen.
Thank you for the support.

On Saturday while I was lying on the floor being lazy my mom asked me if I was going to do the November gratitude challenge.
I responded with “Sure.” While inwardly thinking yeah there’s no way that’s gonna happen. Not because I don’t have enough to be grateful for, but because I literally cannot do anything consistently when it comes to the internet.

Hi. Ask when the last time I checked my email was. Just kidding. Please don’t ask me that.

Also, I’m going on a cruise in 12 days! I’m so. Excited. And also maybe a little bit sad because that means that at some point between now and then, I have to pack. And ok, maybe I’ve already started the long, slow and painful process by gathering things in a central location that I will then stare at angrily for 11 days until I finally toss it into a suitcase.

So nope. There’s no way that I will be consistent with this, but yep. I’ll do it. Kapeesh? So here’s my first three things that I’m thankful for.

1. Teachers:
Everyone currently in school is probably thinking that I’ve lost my mind. But it’s true. I’m so grateful for all the teachers that I’ve had in my life. My mom home schooled my sisters and I until high school, and my brother until middle school. And…what? I don’t know how she lived through it, but I am so glad to have had that experience. She was great at it and I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher than her.

My high school teachers were also invaluable, investing countless hours into each one of their students. My English teacher used to make notes on my essays that would say “You cannot write like you talk.” And yeah, maybe while writing an essay that’s true but uh, I found a way around that and it’s called a blog. In all seriousness though, she was without doubt one of the best teachers that I’ve ever had.

Also, Five years of college…ten freakin semesters, and I’m lucky enough to say that I only had two teachers that I wasn’t super fond of. Maybe that’s not a rare thing, but I feel super lucky to be able to say that.

I would not be the person that I am today without the amazing teachers that have come in and out of my life to share their knowledge and grow young adults into successful people.

2. My parents:
Hello. Have you met them?
Maybe I’m biased, but I think they are the best on earth. They are my wooden poles.

Weird?

Hear me out. You know those wooden stakes that hold baby trees up when their first planted? The ones that are tied to the tree with thick rubber bands on each side and left there for years and years to keep it steady?
Yeah, those are my parents. I would not have survived without them constantly holding me up and encouraging me. I can’t even describe how grateful I am to them for their unconditional and constant outpouring of love.
And to top that off, they’ve somehow managed to hold up four trees. Those are some crazy strong wooden poles if I do say so myself.

I mean, I guess it helps a little that my siblings and I never….ever fought. And that my parents have never had to force us to sit down and hash out our issues with each other. And that my sisters and I have never called each other the the B word…And we never talked back to, or argued with them…not even once.
It also probably helps that we’ve never had those parent heart attack inducing kid accidents like: falling off a rocking horse and busting your lip open, getting run over by a bike, splitting your head open while twirling, slicing your nose on an ash tray, and falling face first into a sidewalk, chipping your front tooth and biting through your lip.
No….we were perfect, accident free, angels…
So their job was super easy.

Numero three!
The sibs:
Amanda, Becca, Matt, James, and fine…Gus, Baby, Siren and Major can be on the team too.
Each one of the people mentioned above…minus the cats, can absolutely drive me nuts and make me want to strangle them, but luckily the love I have for them has always won out in the end.
Growing up with three siblings hasn’t been easy. I feel like it’s similar to throwing a Lion, bear, tiger, and gorilla all into the same little room and saying “Ok, find a way to live together peacefully.”

We each have huge personalities.
Amanda is a strong leader.
Rebecca is a comedian and a dreamer.
Matthew is strong willed and un-bending.
And I have ennui 95% of the time.

Growing up together has been one of the toughest, and funnest, and best things. I wouldn’t trade a single one of these people for anything in the world.

And James, (My brother in law) is great to have around too, especially now that we live in the same city. He is an awesome addition to our family and without him I wouldn’t have a NEPHEW…so he can stay.

Alright. There’s three things.
Stay tuned for more…probably for a long time.

Love,
Ennui girl.