wine induced smiles all around.

today was a damn good day.  nothing completely out of the ordinary happened--i didn't meet anyone new or special, i just woke up with a smile. 

a smile that may have been wine induced from the night before, but not the less, a smile.

i've never been too overly excited for thanksgiving before, i'm not a fan of simply eating, watching football, or anything else that thanksgiving entails.

did i never realize the name of the holiday?  thanksgiving?  hello?  kaia?  where has your brain been for the past 21 years?  DUH!  this year, i look to thanksgiving with more anticipation than i have before.  i look to it as not just a day to sit around a table, eat, watch football and take a turkey induced coma--i am thankful.  this year, i will think of the root of the word thanksgiving.  this year, i will not waste my time with the chaos and crabbiness that i feel when chaos insues at the mathsen and jamieson households; rather, this year, i will be thankful for it.  what a concept!

i have much to be grateful for.  but after this last year--i feel even more grateful than i have before.  the fact that i am even thinking about this critically is something for me to be thankful for.  gee, thanks God, my brain works.  (but seriously...)

friendship.  i am more grateful for friendship than i have ever been.  great friends who stay up late with me to dissect every single situation until we are so talked out that we can't hold our eyes open for one more minute.  friends who will make countless target trips with you so that you can find just the right outfit for that first date.  friends who will drop everything and say "WE CAN GET MORE TACOS!"  friends, those people that you thought you would never like but you end up actually liking most of the things about them.  friends, those people who knew you when you skinned your knee in fifth grade--knew about the quirky habits that you had when you were a kid and love you nonetheless.  i am grateful. 

family.  being friends with my parents.  weird, i never thought i would see the day.  however, whenever i get exciting news, have a new saga, do my laundry, or simply make it home at night--i call my parents to gush.  their understanding, compassion, and support are those beams that have kept me going throughout my life this far.  my grandparents.  they have so much more advice and wisdom than we give them credit for.  yes, it might have be 1947 when they were going through these issues--but they have struggled in classes or with romance the same way you have.  siblings.  i don't know why we go through our lives fighting with our siblings about the borrowed sweater, hanson cd, or sunless tanner?  later in life--we're going to be old friends and call each other for advice about parties, school, or just to shoot the shit and talk about nothing.  believe me, it happens.  aunts and uncles who are so real and there for you.  these people will listen to you about your dramas, and then they will tell you theirs!  how freeing is it to know that family members are there for each other?  i'm feeling pretty damn free.  i know that not everyone has this luxury--and if you don't, i invite you into my family.  all are welcome. 

education.  how many times have i bitched and moaned about augsburg and how crappy this year has gone?  if you haven't noticed--a ton.  i want it to be known that i am so grateful to augsburg and all of the opportunities and experiences that place has given me.  it restored my faith in people and reminds me every day of the person i used to be, the person that i am, and the person that i am becoming.  augsburg has allowed me to establish myself and express myself freely and spontaneously.  i have fallen down plenty of times in that place, but i also have triumphed.  this place has introduced me to a plethora of people who i will hold on to for the rest of my days.  i am grateful to have been able to get an education at this institution. 

faith.  most of all.  i am so damn grateful for faith.  i don't know where i would be without the hope of tomorrow.  there are so many things that aren't promised to us.  and life is too short to worry about it--so we have faith. 

this year.  i am grateful.  i am thankful.  i am going to spend thanksgiving rejoicing with my family and friends--allowing myself to feel every emotion that comes along with the season.  i am going to hug my family a little tighter, smile a little bit wider, and even allow myself to be a little nostalgic. 

and then?  vespers.

that...is a whole other story.

fight the good fight,
+kaia