To Begin: Thirty (Plus) Days of Grateful

Wow, it's been a LONG time!

Sorry I've been MIA: I've been traveling and enjoying all that this wonderful continent has to offer. In my last blog post, I challenged my readers to join me as I make a daily list of the things I'm grateful for. In this past month, I have been grateful for SO many things. Many of the things I've written down are repeated almost every day. I have absolutely loved spending the last couple minutes of my day (or let's be real, maybe it was the next afternoon...) reflecting on the things that I was grateful for throughout the day. I am going to share my list with you and, if you care to, I'd love to hear what you all were grateful for this month as well!

Thirty Days of Grateful

• Nov. 1 - Today I'm grateful for motivation, productivity, and coffee.
• Nov. 2 - Today I'm grateful for productivity, friendship, the ability to laugh at myself, and forgiveness.
• Nov. 3 - Today I'm grateful for warm beds and my family.
• Nov. 4 - Today I'm grateful for good workouts, the ability to focus, coffee dates, and God's calming effect.
• Nov. 5 - Today I'm grateful for the ability to practice a language and the opportunity to travel to Ireland.
• Nov. 8 - Today I'm grateful for good company, easy conversation, and "the butterflies".
• Nov. 9 - Today I'm grateful for confidence, patience, contentment, the light at dusk, fall colors, and the beautiful cathedral in León.
• Nov. 10 - Today I'm grateful for relaxation, the ability to understand and laugh at Spanish jokes, feeling part of a family, and my family.
• Nov. 11 - Today I'm grateful for friends, last-minute plans, unexpected run-ins, and "the butterflies".
• Nov. 12 - Today I'm grateful for taking a risk, good friends, kiwis, and my English students.
• Nov. 14 - Today I'm grateful for another day of life, friendly conversations, God's ultimate plan, a sound mind, Robert's job offer, and happiness.
• Nov. 15 - Today I'm grateful for naps, the opportunity to travel to Ireland, friends, and spontaneous plans.
• Nov. 16 - Today I'm grateful for beautiful landscape and great friends.
• Nov. 17 - Today I'm grateful for motivation, productivity, laughter and friends.
• Nov. 18 - Today I'm grateful for productivity and relaxation.
• Nov. 19 - Today I'm grateful for productivity, motivation, and the fact that I'm seeing my family tomorrow.
• Nov. 20 - Today I'm grateful for thoughtfulness and my family.
• Nov. 21 - Today I'm grateful for the beauty God created in the mountains.
• Nov. 22 - Today I'm grateful for the beauty of light, God's forgiveness and beauty, and my family.
• Nov. 23 - Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to see a fútbol game, my family, and Oviedo.
• Nov. 24 - Today I'm grateful for my family.
• Nov. 25 - Today I'm grateful for my family, not being bothered by the rain, the beautiful landscape, the opportunity to lead an Alternative Spring Break, and sleeping in this hotel bed.
• Nov. 26 - Today I'm grateful for friends, my family, conversation, and laughter.
• Nov. 27 - Today I'm grateful for my family, my friends, thoughtfulness, warm baths, relaxation and laughter.
• Nov. 28 - Today I'm grateful for my family, the thanksgiving dinner we ate, good friends, and the Gill family.
• Nov. 29 - Today I'm grateful for patience, warm beds, the ability to think in two languages, the Christmas spirit, friends, and family.
• Nov. 30 - Today I'm grateful for being able to reconnect with a friend, my family, the beauty of architecture, beautiful music, good food, and my warm bed.
• Dec. 1 - Today I'm grateful for my family, meeting with my friend, living after the subway attacked me, surprise paper extensions, and messengers of good news.
• Dec. 2 - Today I'm grateful for optimism, the opportunity to travel to Ireland, the opportunity to lead an Alternative Spring Break, my wonderful co-facilitators, understanding, empathy, and the Christmas spirit.
• Dec. 3 - Today I'm grateful for Miguel and how smart and adorable he is, the opportunity to go to Ireland, my host mom's kindness and thoughtfulness and humorous conversations in Spanish.
• Dec. 4 - Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to travel to Ireland, making quick friends, and the kindness and openness of the Irish people.
• Dec. 5 - Today I'm grateful for the people of Dublin and their passion and genuine sincerity and kindness, the friends I made at the hostel and that kiss.
• Dec. 6 - Today I'm grateful for that kiss, the landscape, the genuine kindness of the people of Ireland, and the hot water bottle in my bed.
• Dec. 7 - Today I'm grateful for the hot water bottle, going on the tour with my friends from Dublin, meeting new people, bagels, taking risks, God's ultimate plan, YouthWorks and my summer job, Ireland's beautiful landscape, confidence, and self respect.
• Dec. 8 - Today I'm grateful for the people I've met traveling, the Christmas spirit, going to see my family soon, good company, and the amazing time I had in Dublin.
• Dec. 9 - Today I'm grateful for the way Irish people chat with strangers, God-given confidence in being independent, and God's overwhelming presence in nature.