Have yourself a whale of a Christmas!
I decided to write this thanksgiving post in October in Hunedoara, Romania. (A lot of things have changed in the last ten months but my trusty procrastination tendencies have not) I actually wrote this draft from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, three days before Thanksgiving, and am perfectly on time getting it to y'all for Christmas :)
So, I want to start my Thankful For list with 1.the incredibly hot shower I just had, probably when I needed it the most (physically and mentally) and 2. Natalia. I couldn't imagine doing this trip with out her and she makesevery most experiences richer. (and she's the one who made me take a shower because "I looked grumpy".)
*I'm actually posting this about two weeks after I left her in Istanbul, from a jungle hut (not the romantic kind) outside of Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India. So being thankful for a travel bud is so much more relevant these days.*
Anyways, this post isn't about being thankful for what I have, it's about being thankful for what I can have. I have been brought up surrounded by love. My parents told me I was beautiful inside and out and they taught me to think and sent me out into the world. (they regret that last part now. :)
I can come home at any time. I can do what I love. I can do what I hate and will have known how to do what I love. And now, it's knowing all of this and having moments to look back on that really clarify this gift. Seeing parts of the world where many people's only option is survival has put a lot into perspective. A new friend from Istanbul said, "Food, water, and making love...that's all we really need." and it's so true.
So while being thankful for these things, I am also feeling so blessed and pretty sure that I am the luckiest girl in the world(!), and that I have so much to choose from! I have so many beautiful people to come home to, I'm from a place where I get to do exactly what it is that I love and have an actual chance at making a living from it! I can do what I want as a woman without my husbands consent...(I am not weird for not having a husband yet!) I guess in a way I'm saying I'm thankful to be an American as well, which is not where I meant for this to go, but we are so lucky to be from such a place. I've been taking my freedom for granted the last so many years and am glad to be able to recognize that:)
-break for...the trivial stuff!-
I am so very thankful for:
PEANUT BUTTER
Jonathan Safran Foer and Kurt Vonnegut
large to go coffee cups
free milk in your coffee (however much I want!)
the front seat on the top of double decker buses
sunsets and sunrises
heat! In my bedroom, at night, when it's cold
space to RUN
internet in the jungle
P B R<3 br="">
<3 br="">
-annnd sappy again-
I am so thankful for all of the people who have fed me, given me a shower and a bed. I am so in awe of the generosity I have seen while travelling. Between the farms and couchsurfers, family, and random friends of friends and family, everyone, and I mean every single person, has given whatever they could in that moment to me. I never expected to be taken care of so well and I cannot believe I lived 26 years without the realization that most people actually want to help you.
My definition of hospitality has taken on new importance:)
AND it has been a pleasure to see the sun set most nights and think about this ball of rock we live on that turns. As I watch the sun disappear, I imagine it coming up in the lives of the people I love. And as things change moment to moment in our world, the knowlege that I am a speck is overwhelming, but the knowledge that I am a speck with the ability to give love and recieve love is so heartwarming and beautiful and I never want to take that for granted again.
So as always, I am the most thankful for the people I get to share my life with. And the ones who helped make me who I am today.
Ok! Enough of that! Thanks and thanks and now it's Christmas and I'm alone, and I thought I might be, and it sucks, but Moby Dick and Bon Iver are here to help, so atleast I have that :)
Merry Xmas and if everyone could either have some extra champagne/ pumpkin pie/sweet potatoes and send me warm bubbly thoughts that would be great :) 'night!
So, I want to start my Thankful For list with 1.the incredibly hot shower I just had, probably when I needed it the most (physically and mentally) and 2. Natalia. I couldn't imagine doing this trip with out her and she makes
*I'm actually posting this about two weeks after I left her in Istanbul, from a jungle hut (not the romantic kind) outside of Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India. So being thankful for a travel bud is so much more relevant these days.*
Anyways, this post isn't about being thankful for what I have, it's about being thankful for what I can have. I have been brought up surrounded by love. My parents told me I was beautiful inside and out and they taught me to think and sent me out into the world. (they regret that last part now. :)
I can come home at any time. I can do what I love. I can do what I hate and will have known how to do what I love. And now, it's knowing all of this and having moments to look back on that really clarify this gift. Seeing parts of the world where many people's only option is survival has put a lot into perspective. A new friend from Istanbul said, "Food, water, and making love...that's all we really need." and it's so true.
So while being thankful for these things, I am also feeling so blessed and pretty sure that I am the luckiest girl in the world(!), and that I have so much to choose from! I have so many beautiful people to come home to, I'm from a place where I get to do exactly what it is that I love and have an actual chance at making a living from it! I can do what I want as a woman without my husbands consent...(I am not weird for not having a husband yet!) I guess in a way I'm saying I'm thankful to be an American as well, which is not where I meant for this to go, but we are so lucky to be from such a place. I've been taking my freedom for granted the last so many years and am glad to be able to recognize that:)
-break for...the trivial stuff!-
I am so very thankful for:
PEANUT BUTTER
Jonathan Safran Foer and Kurt Vonnegut
large to go coffee cups
free milk in your coffee (however much I want!)
the front seat on the top of double decker buses
sunsets and sunrises
heat! In my bedroom, at night, when it's cold
space to RUN
internet in the jungle
P B R<3 br="">
<3 br="">
-annnd sappy again-
I am so thankful for all of the people who have fed me, given me a shower and a bed. I am so in awe of the generosity I have seen while travelling. Between the farms and couchsurfers, family, and random friends of friends and family, everyone, and I mean every single person, has given whatever they could in that moment to me. I never expected to be taken care of so well and I cannot believe I lived 26 years without the realization that most people actually want to help you.
My definition of hospitality has taken on new importance:)
AND it has been a pleasure to see the sun set most nights and think about this ball of rock we live on that turns. As I watch the sun disappear, I imagine it coming up in the lives of the people I love. And as things change moment to moment in our world, the knowlege that I am a speck is overwhelming, but the knowledge that I am a speck with the ability to give love and recieve love is so heartwarming and beautiful and I never want to take that for granted again.
So as always, I am the most thankful for the people I get to share my life with. And the ones who helped make me who I am today.
Ok! Enough of that! Thanks and thanks and now it's Christmas and I'm alone, and I thought I might be, and it sucks, but Moby Dick and Bon Iver are here to help, so atleast I have that :)
Merry Xmas and if everyone could either have some extra champagne/ pumpkin pie/sweet potatoes and send me warm bubbly thoughts that would be great :) 'night!
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