Month of Giving Thanks

By Gaby -
Hannah from HANNAHVIOLIN is posting one thing she's thankful for each day for the month of November.  I think it's a good idea and will join her in doing the same.  Although I'm not consistent with posting something every day, it will force me to take a closer look at how fortunate and blessed I really am.  And yes, I know I should be thankful for what I have every day of the year, but for the eye rollers and party poopers out there, I think major holidays are especially good for precisely these kinds of things.  Perhaps they are viewed at as cliche, but I think they serve a purpose and greater meaning.

So.  The first thing that comes to my mind that I'm thankful for (and the order of my "things" are completely random as I think of them) is that I have a job.  I was thinking about this on my drive home from teaching today; when one thinks of a successful career or being gainfully employed, becoming a musician isn't really the first thing on their list.  No doubt, my fellow freelance musicians know what I'm talking about: your student number can rise or drop at any moment, sometimes gigs don't pan out or you don't get as many as you anticipated, and even music educators employed by the school system are at risk of losing their jobs if music programs are cut.  However, in good times and bad, the students--whatever the count is--are always there and new opportunities are always arising.
When I think of how many unemployed individuals there are in this country alone who are worried about paying their bills, feeding their families and just wanting to sleep at night without their burdens keeping them up all night, I recognize how blessed I am to not have to worry at this particular moment about something like that.  I suppose there are other things that are linked to this that I'm also thankful for that make it possible for me to have a job, but I'll have to reserve those for other days this month!

Anyone else have a list of what they're grateful for?  Or even one thing that sticks out in your mind that you're particularly thankful for?

Thanks, Hannah, for the wonderful idea:)

Comments

Hannah said…
I'm sure I didn't come up with the idea on my own, but I'm glad you're joining me with the 30 days of Thanksgiving :)
November 1, 2011 at 12:47 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I can't wait!!

By Gaby -
Today, I opened up my laptop to catch up on my blog reading, and came across Puttin' On the G.R.I.T.S' blog with pictures of her Aspen trip...and it totally reminded me that in just about two weeks or so, I'll be GOING TO ASPEN!!!!  Can't believe how close it's getting.  Ryan and I have been patiently anticipating this trip since January.  Poor Ry, he needs to get away so badly.  New position = new stresses. But before that, I'll be going to Lexington, KY and Nashville, TN w/ my parents and two doggies.  Lexington is first to meet a 2nd (or 3rd?) cousin that I've never met before on my grandfather's side.  This is exciting for me b/c I never got to meet my grandfather as he died 2 months before I was born. After that, we'll be moving on to Nashville to see some old family friends.  We'll be there for most of the week, so I think I may take my violin with me as it'll be two retired couples + me.  I suspect there will lots of down time.  I ...
Read more

Warning: Do not read if you dislike feeling depressed:/

By Gaby -
This summer will have been my fifth year living and working in Columbus, and as I experience a turnover nearly every single year, I've been pondering more and more in recent weeks that I need to change some things.  I don't think any violin teacher or artist out there ever thinks they are doing the wrong thing or teaching their students incorrectly--don't we all tend to like the way we think and/or do things?!  But, even though I come to expect turnovers in students as a regular and normal thing, this year has just been so...weird.  I thought that I had matured enough and was experienced enough to get over those humps and not take it so personally when students left or quit as I did when I first started teaching, but I really have to admit--I've been shaken by particular students leaving, and with specific experiences w/ some parents.  Feelings of doubt--even incompetence--have washed over me, and that quickly turns into anger and defensive reactions when I can't pu...
Read more

Life lately

By Gaby -
Image
There are good days and there are bad days.  The good days are when I'm distracted from all things concerning my mom, or the times I see her in person or over Skype and catch her smiling or talking normally and it calms my soul;  the bad days catch me by surprise and kind of piss me off, quite frankly.  Like yesterday-- I was doing just fine, as I think I'd been for the past week, until I sat down last evening and opened a book I picked up from the library that I'd seen on someone's recent book list:   When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi.  I am not sure what I was thinking, reading a book written by a man around my age who died of terminal lung cancer shortly after writing it, especially in the midst of my own mother's terminal cancer diagnosis. I guess I thought it would help me come to terms with the concept of death and dying.  And it IS a good book--Kalinithi was a good writer, a neurosurgeon by training, but writer and philosopher at heart (he al...
Read more