What I'm thankful for this year

I meant to post this on Thanksgiving day, but it's been a hectic weekend, what with planning our trip, decorating for the holidays, and my recovery (still) from my back spasm.

The year 2010 has been very good to me. Not like 2009 when I spent most of the year battling depression and PPD after my miscarriage during the holidays of 2008. No, this year I vowed to change things up, and am so grateful for everything that's happened to me, and everyone around me. Am I depression-free? Heck, no! Did I lose all the weight I gained during the depression and hypothyroidism? Not even close! But I feel a LOT better, and can honestly say that I'm prepared for whatever 2011 has in store for me.

These are the things I'm most thankful for right now:

♥ My husband. Last week we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and last Sunday we renewed our vows in church before God and our family. It was a short but very special act that proved that we're ready for our next 10 years. He has definitely been my rock, my best friend, and my soul mate. I can't imagine my life without him. Well, I can imagine it, but it's not pretty. If you want to know more about how I feel towards him, read my last post, 10 years of wedded... bliss? I just read it before starting to write this, and I'm still crying like a little girl. Please don't tell hubs, I need to keep my cool front!

♥ My son. The people who know me pre-child will NEVER believe this, but Daniel is the light of my life. Everyone always told me "your life will change completely once you become a mother", and I would always say "only if you want it to". Well guess what, turns out I wanted to! Everything that was important to me before seems so stupid and trivial now, and I have a whole new set of priorities that I would've never thought of before. I even used to criticize other moms about their obsessions with their children, and now I'm one of those moms, yikes! But loving every second of it. If you want an example of how motherhood has changed me, read this post, The Mommy in me.

♥ My family. This is a complicated one, because I've had so many negative situations with my family, that one would think that I would not include it here. But I am thankful. Friends come and go, and when friendships fail, there's usually nothing keeping you together. But with family it's different. You may have your downfalls, but come the next holiday or family gathering, and they're all there, and like it or not, you have to face them. I kinda like that, because it forces you to face the situation and move on. Besides, who else can you count on to tell you the truth to your face, not even caring if they hurt your feelings or not? Oh ya, feelings get hurt (A LOT!), but the truth is always told.

♥ My friends. As you can imagine, I don't have a lot of friends. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably don't know me in real life. What I mean is, friendships, like all relationships, take time and effort, and I usually forget to keep up with my friends. The few friends that I have probably don't even know this, but I treasure them deeply. I guess I'm more of a quality, not quantity kind of gal. Also? Twitter friends. Yes, I mean the ones where I only know their @ names, and live in a different country than I do (cue my family groaning in disgust and looking at me unapprovingly). Lately, I have gained a lot of friends who have a lot in common with me. Fellow mompreneurs who juggle motherhood, home businesses and/or corporate life, and home and family. They've been my sounding board to all my struggles, doubts, questions, and moral support. Most of my newfound clarity and outlook on life, I owe to them.

This is not a comprehensive list by any means, but I think these are the most important aspects of my life at this moment. I'm a firm believer that there is no such thing as a negative experience if you use it to learn and grow. The person you are now is the sum of ALL your experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I love the saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

And by now I might as well be freaking HULK!!