Saturday, November 16, 2013

Thanksgiving Gratitude

The other day, I accidentally started fleshing out my editorial calendar through the end of the year.  You know how I love planning my posts ahead of time, but I had to move some things around over the next couple of weeks to make room for a few follow ups and a couple of new ideas that I can't wait to share.  I bumped a post from one Tuesday to the next, and all of a sudden I was in December!  The calendar will continue to change, I'm sure, but I'm really loving how organic this blog is feeling right now.

One thing I noticed, though, is that I don't have a real Thanksgiving post scheduled!  We're twelve days away from the holiday and I've got so many things to appreciate at the moment - it's only right and proper that I throw in some gratitude here, don't you think?

photos from Thanksgiving 2012 in Washington, DC and Charlottesville, VA
I'm grateful that Jon and I were able to find a decently priced flight from London to DC so that he can come visit me for Thanksgiving.  We haven't seen each other since August 30 and he arrives next Sunday for a full week's holiday.  I'm so looking forward to being reunited!

Speaking of, I'm grateful that Jon and I are now in phase two of the visa process to bring him over here as a legal resident with a right to work in the States.  Phase one took half the time we'd expected so it's possible that he'll be moving here before spring!  I don't want to jinx anything, but please do cross your fingers for us.

I'm grateful that my parents live nearby and that they have an open door policy.  I love my apartment and I love living on my own with Charlie (though, obviously, I can't wait for Jon to move in) but sometimes it's just nice to come back to my childhood home and spend an evening watching West Wing with Mom and Dad over cups of tea and Petit Écolier biscuits.

Believe it or not, I'm grateful to Charlie for continuing to wake up with the sun.  With the clocks having fallen back recently, he's letting me sleep in past 7am!  It feels positively luxurious.  I know a few of you have dogs that stay in bed until you're ready to get up, but that's not how it works in my house...

I'm grateful for the kindness of strangers.  Last week I tweeted about salsify, a root vegetable that's not very well-known around here and so isn't widely available, and the farmers market at 14th and U tweeted back to let me know that Kuhn Orchards will have some at their stall today just for me.  That's amazing, isn't it?  It goes above and beyond customer service into true care and dedication.

I'm also grateful for the generosity of friends.  I've been getting a constant stream of emails, texts, and Facebook messages from friends in London ever since I moved back to DC; it's possible to keep in touch these days even over great distances thanks to technology, but it still takes time and thought to reach out.  For some reason, I assumed that my UK friends would start to drift as Jon and I got closer to making our home in the States but that hasn't been the case at all.  I feel so lucky.

Finally, I'm grateful for the friendships I've made through blogging.  Sara will be joining us tomorrow for The Sunday Currently and Emily's on deck for later next week, and I'm delighted to be sponsoring Nicole this month - if you've come from my Q&A Treasure Tromp today, welcome!  It's really a joy to have built these incredibly meaningful relationships with girls across the world, so thank you to all of you who read and comment here.

How about you, dear readers - what are you grateful for this season?


 photo 866de425-8336-4c63-9efd-1c4dd8bf0e62_zpsafe0d56b.jpg

15 comments:

  1. So excited for you about the reunion! I am very grateful for medicine, hahaha but it feels so good to have access to the healthcare and medicine I need!

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  2. haha I'm having a fight with healthcare at the moment but I should remember it's all relative - I'm lucky there, too!

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  3. That's so exciting Jon is coming so soon and your visa process is going well!!!! Fingers crossed that it keeps going well!

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  4. I know! we'd gotten some bad news about the process recently but it seems that, actually, it won't affect us - onwards and upwards!

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  5. Yay I love all this positivity! I'm glad you get to see Jon soon and wish you the best with the completion of the visa process.


    I'm grateful to be spending a few weeks with my family, and to have a flexible job that's so family-friendly. And I'm extra thankful that soon we'll be headed back home to play with our two big dogs!

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  6. Crossing my fingers, arms, legs, and toes for you and Jon! It'd be amazing for him to be able to come over sooner than later (and additionally, for me to meet both of you soon!)



    I know it sounds totally cliche and sappy, but I'm thankful for you this season! You've made living in a place where I hardly know anyone seem not so bad, even if we can't hang out "in real life." (Hopefully soon?)

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  7. This is such a lovely post! Yay that Jon gets to visit you for Thanksgiving. That's exciting! Also, those pictures are simply lovely.

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  8. Crossing my fingers that the visa process goes smoothly and quickly! And yay for you and Jon getting a holiday together!

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  9. Yay for Jon being able to visit! It's so nice to hear that the visa process is moving along relatively quickly. I will definitely keep my fingers crossed!

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  10. I am beyond happy for you that Jon will be visited for Thanksgiving and also that the visa process is progressing, before you know it, this whole seperation will be a thing of the past x

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  11. oh that sounds IDEAL job-wise! and dogs are always a thing to be thankful for :)

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  12. oh YAY I'm thankful for your friendship too! and maybe I will see you in a few short months :)

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  13. thanks! Jon was SO sick me me instagramming everything on that visit but I just couldn't help myself...

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