For what am I thankful?

I've been meaning to post a list of things for which I am thankful for a while now, but I've been pretty busy. This year, more than any other, I truly realize how much I have to be thankful for. So here's my list, but by no means does this cover it all.

1. Family. I have a wonderful family that I love so much. My mom and dad are so supportive and my brother helps me whenever I need it. I realize how lucky I am to have such a great relationship with them. I am also lucky to have an extended family with which I am close and get to see often.

2. My boyfriend. I don't post a lot about him here, but I am such a lucky girl to have found such a wonderful man. I am thankful for him and all that he brings to my life.

3. Dog. Gracie is easily the cutest dog in the whole world. She is sweet and cuddly and is great to come home to and cuddle with after a long day at school.

4. My job. Even though it sometimes makes me absolutely crazy I love my job. I feel that teaching is my purpose in life. How many people can say that they get to do what they feel they were meant do to?

5. Those are the biggies. Here's a list of some other things that brighten up my life: Sunday mornings, internet friends, UNC basketball, quiet classrooms, workdays, chapstick, fuzzy socks, books, sappy love songs, the list goes on and on.

What are you thankful for this year?

Absolute joy

As usual, I am spending my Friday night lounging on my couch and watching a movie. Today I decided I wanted to watch one that would make me laugh and cry so I chose Love Actually which is one of my favorite movies of all time. There are so many great scenes in this movie. One of my favorites is when Laura Linney's character is brought home by the cute guy she's been in love with forever. She is so excited that she has to excuse herself to jump up and down. I absolutely love that. It reminds me of the scene in Sense & Sensibility when Emma Thompson finds out that Hugh Grant isn't married. She is so overcome with joy that she breaks into a crying jag. And so do I. Both of these scenes make me so happy that I cry and smile at the same time. They are moments of absolute, pure joy and it can't be contained. How often do moments like that come along in our lives? Not nearly often enough. I've come as close as I ever have to experiencing pure joy this year, a year that I hadn't expected to be so amazing. Here's to hoping we all get to experience these moments, and that we get to do it soon.

Up....

Last weekend I went to visit Nancy and we saw the movie "Up." This movie really spoke to me. As most of you know, I will be turning 30 in just 10 short days. I'm handling this upcoming milestone much better than I thought I would. There's been no crying, wailing, or gnashing of teeth. I'm not dressing all in black. I haven't retreated from the world and holed myself up in my apartment, eating Ben & Jerry's and never getting out of my pajamas. I'm okay with turning 30. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm so happy right now. My life isn't what I thought it would be at this point, but it's pretty damn good. "Up" really made me realize that my life may not be the adventure that I had planned, but it's still an adventure and I'd better get with the program and enjoy it.
When I was 18 (was that really so long ago?), I filled out one of those senior memory books that asks you where you want to be in 10 years. I had a plan. I was a girl who knew what she wanted. I would meet the love of my life during college, marry him shortly after graduating, immediately begin having kids, and live somewhere (anywhere) other than Franklin County.
That's not what has happened. I didn't meet Mr. Right in college. I didn't even date all that much. I did, however, make some life-long friends, travel, do lots of fun stuff, and even managed to learn a few things, too. I loved college and had a great time and I wouldn't change anything about it.
I didn't get married right after college, or even yet. I've dated some great guys (and some not so great ones) and I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I have to be myself: that changing to fit what you think someone else wants just doesn't work. I learned that I am more independent and self-reliant than I thought I could be. I still want to get married, but I'm glad that I didn't do it when I was younger. I would have been a terrible wife. I think my chances of having a successful marriage are greater now than they would have been eight years ago.
I don't have kids. That is such a good thing. There are days when it's all I can do to take care of myself and my dog. When I was younger I wanted lots of kids. I also went through a phase when I didn't want any kids. Now I want to have one child (maybe two, but probably just one). I was much too selfish to have kids before this point in my life.
While I don't live in Franklin County, I do work there. I wanted to get out of Franklin County. I thought that was the one thing in my life that I could accomplish, but here I am, making the drive to Louisburg every day. I love teaching at Louisburg High School. My students are challenging but I love them and I think they need me. I love my job and wouldn't change it for anything. I want to make a career there.
Now 30 is here and I've been thinking about how things have turned out. I have friends that are amazing and that I've known since childhood. I have friends that are new that I love so much. I have an amazing job that I know I was meant for. I have a family that is wonderful and loves me. I have an apartment that I've finally finished decorating. I have a dog that is the cutest and sweetest dog in the whole world. I am dating a wonderful man that makes me very happy.
My life isn't what I'd hoped it'd be when I was 18 years old. It's so much better.

This will make you happy.

I love this video of Susan Boyle singing on Britain's Got Talent. I can't begin to describe it so you're just going to have to watch it for yourself to find out why it made me cry and smile and my heart happy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Because we all do too much

The peace of wild things by Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

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In case you forget...

I'm feeling quite postie today, so here's one more just because we all forget how phenomenal we are sometimes.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.