very grateful.

to preface, i have started and come back to this post a few times over the last week, so it's a bit late to post, but thought id still post what happened (:

as i sit and finish writing my thank you cards for many things this season, i am feeling so blessed and grateful for the life i have been given and all the pieces that come along with it. my family is amazing. my friends are have exceeded my expectations of what friends should do/be. and the people i work with have been the best coworkers i could ever ask for. i have been seriously lucky that my first job out of college has been my job for 3 years. 

ive been very emotional lately, and its no surprise to anyone why. i have, though, done some serious thinking. contemplating why exactly i am SO emotional. i have concluded a few things. 

i have such a wonderful life. 

i have two parents, who are willing to bend over backwards to help me make my dream come true, even if its at an expense - of money, time, space, energy moving all the stuff i have. they own a house that has space to let me sort through my stuff, help me decide what to donate to better homes, and even take it for me after i leave so i dont have to stress about adding one more thing to do before i jet off to a nice warm country.  they are taking care of my car while im gone, and helping financially, since ill be making a whopping $50/month down there - i wish the student loan companies cared about that.

 

i have some of the best friends in the world. the only exception to that is id love to be friends with brett eldredge, ellen degeneres, and ed sheeran. (if anyone reading this has connections, hit me up!!!!!) my friends perfectly executed a surprise party recently, took me out for a very nice and fun dinner, and even made me gifts of a song and slideshow of pictures of our year together. ive had so many friends come and go in my life - people i thought id be close to forever, and ive kind of always been disappointed. not anymore. i know that these 5 are not going anywhere. (im the one that left...) 

i have (had) the best coworkers i could ever ask for - ones that make me never want to leave. i am so lucky to have found such a great organization early on, and grow along with the company, in so many ways. i have been given such great opportunities, from a company that has such high goals for the company, and each individual employee. i cannot begin to say thank you enough for all the wonderful connections ive made with everyone over the years - including the vendors and other real estate related connections. 

my mother always told us to follow our dreams; that we could do anything, and (within reeason), she'd support us. i don't know if she realized that that would lead one daughter to germany, and her other to mexico - overlapping for 8 months of the year. she texted me this morning and said she was doing fine until she watched me walk away to make my dream come true. i was that girl crying in the caribou coffee line. 

i am so excited for this place ive called my second home for years to finally become my first home for an extended period of time. this organization is life changing, and i can't wait to share my experience with whoever wants to listen (: