A Year of Gratitude - November 2025 Snapshot

My word for 2024 was GRATITUDE.  To help myself keep the focus on that word all year, I started keeping a gratitude journal on January 1, 2024, and I’ve been writing at least 3-4 things I’m grateful for every single day since then.  I shared little snapshots of each month last year to hold myself accountable, and since I ended up enjoying these posts so much, I decided to continue them in 2025.

I’m only pulling one item from my gratitude journal per day to share here (okay, sometimes two or three), and some of the things are really big things like good health and good relationships, some things are humorous, and some things are the little things that most of the time go unnoticed.  Overall, though, the purpose of this whole exercise is to remember that even on the very worst of days, there is ALWAYS something for which to be grateful.

Always.

November was a great month (aside from the first week when I was bedridden from tapering off my vertigo meds), and there was a lot to be grateful for, as there always is. 

In November I was grateful…

 

1. For a lazy day to do nothing but watch college football and decorate for Christmas.  I just love having my Christmas lights back on the mantle.  They always make me so happy!
2. For an extra hour in the day!  I know most people hate this time change in the fall, but I absolutely adore it!  We get an extra hour on Sunday, I’m tired when it’s time to go to bed so I always sleep well, and I wake up feeling refreshed, because the new 6 AM feels like 7 AM.  Oh, and I don’t have to drive to school in the dark anymore.  It’s winning every single way I look at it.  ;o)
3. For multiple naps and for Brian’s and the kids’ understanding as I navigated extreme withdrawal symptoms from tapering off my vertigo medicine after two years.
4. For a quick response from my doctor’s office about everything that’s been going on since I started to taper off my vertigo meds.
5. For Brian for always stepping up to drive the kids, keep us fed, and get all the necessary cleaning done when I’m not feeling well.
6. For beautiful leaves outside my office window and a homecooked meal delivered by my Momma and Daddy.  It’s always a treat to see them midweek since it’s rare!
7. For some relief after my doctor told me to add back in a tiny dose of my vertigo meds to help with the withdrawal symptoms.  It was amazing how quickly that teeny tiny half of a pill worked so quickly to start relieving all my symptoms of unsteadiness, dizziness, eye strain, brain zaps, night sweats, restlessness, etc.
8. For Jen for picking me up for girls’ night since it still wasn’t safe for me to drive.
9. For the movie Serendipity… it’s one of my favorite movies of all time and it gets me in the mood for the Christmas season every single year.  It also brings back such sweet memories of seeing it in the movie theater with my Momma back in 2001 when I was just 19 years old.  I wonder how many times I’ve watched it through the years?  It has to be hundreds.
10. For finally being able to drive after over a week of not being able to.  For being able to go grocery shopping on my own.  For feeling much steadier even though I still have some lingering issues.  For independence.  I hate the feeling of having to rely on others for everyday life things.
11. For all our veterans including all the ones in our family… thank you for your service!  And for a bonus day off with the kids and one less day that I have to drive.  Oh, and for chocolate chip banana muffins from the Walmart bakery.  If y’all haven’t tried them, you should.
12. For getting ahead by four whole blog posts!  I haven’t been that ahead in months… maybe years?
13. For my neck pillow that my upper cervical chiropractor recommended I get to restore the c curve in my neck.  It really does help relax my neck and shoulders and it seems to be working to restore my posture. 
14.  For time spent with my brother today since I only get to see him a few times a year.  And for being able to be along for the ride with Olivia on all her fun outings.  I’m so grateful that she still wants me around for her dances and dinners with friends.  And after parties, too.
15. For surprise sideline passes at the Georgia vs. Texas game!  For being able to meet Matthew McConaughey even though he didn’t want to be bothered!  Haha.  (I certainly did NOT have that on my bingo card for 2025!)  For a Georgia win!  And for a gracious husband who stayed with the kids while I went down on the sidelines since we only had access to one pass.
16. For a safe trip home and for being fed well by my mother-in-law and my Momma.
17. That I was able to get out of jury duty.  Thank you, God.  It was a terrible case, and I know I would have been traumatized having to sit through it and hear and see all the details.  This might top the list for the month.  The relief I felt after being released was literally one of the biggest reliefs I’ve ever felt in my life, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
18. To have an unexpected free week after thinking I was going to be stuck in jury duty all week.
19. That we were able to snag tickets to the only Teddy Swims Christmas concert!!!!  We don’t even know if he’ll sing Christmas songs, but it’s a one-time event to raise money for charity and it’s at a tiny venue and we were able to get enough tickets to take the kids, too!!!!  Even though there were literally more than 30,000 people in the queue ahead of us on Ticketmaster when the presale started.  And the venue only holds 3,000.
20. For all our precious Christmas ornaments from years past… especially the newest addition to the tree this year – Maui’s little paw print that we made after she passed away earlier this year.
21. For Taylor Swift’s Folklore Long Pond Studio Sessions album… it is truly a masterpiece.
22. For a nice long stretch of nine days off ahead of us!  And for being able to be super productive yesterday so I can take plenty of time to rest this week.  Also, for time with dear friends at poker night tonight.  And for Pepcid Complete.  Because I had some raging acid reflux for 48 hours and Tums didn’t even touch it.
23. For a day at the movie theater watching Wicked: For Good… we all loved it so much!  I loved it more than the first!  Lots of tears!
24. For two Christmas movies back-to-back with Brian and the kids, for no blog work to be done so I can be truly present this week, and for family time outside decorating for Christmas.
25. For a clean and tidy house, for pajamas all day, and that Jacob and Olivia loved Mrs. Doubtfire as much as I did when I was a kid.
26. For family time with my father-in-law this evening to celebrate Thanksgiving on this Thanksgiving Eve. 
27. For another Thanksgiving with all our loved ones, for a lit Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Lil Jon on the Toys R Us float was *chef’s kiss* – LOL), and that everyone stayed well since we missed our last big get together at Christmas when Olivia had the flu last year.
28. For a safe trip to Atlanta and back, that Olivia rallied even though she started feeling bad during the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game, and for a Georgia win!
29. For a to-go plate from Brian since Olivia and I had to miss Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law today.  The leftovers were absolutely delicious!  And also, for my new ornament with Maui’s photos that Brian surprised me with… we hung it right next to her paw print ornament.  It’s now one of my favorite ornaments on the whole tree.
30. For Children’s Ibuprofen because it took Olivia’s very high fever right down.  And for one-on-one time with her yesterday and today even though it wasn’t under the best circumstances.

 

Happy Monday, y’all!  What is something you’re grateful for today?