For Me, It's All About the Thankful Thoughts!

My parents have been joined at the hip for 42 years!! From them, came myself and my other 3 siblings (I'm #2). Two of my siblings are married, one has three children. I have one child of my own. So the number of people in my immediate family is twelve. We're going to call that my very lucky number because the first thing I am most thankful for is my family. This is a very common thing to be thankful for, as it should be. However, for me, it's on a whole other level!

My family are also my closest friends. All of them, aside from myself, live in one big house. My son and I go to sleep over often and there's never a dull moment! Nearly every moment with my family is like a holiday. My brother-in-law, the chef, is always on ready to show off his cooking skills, whether it's in the kitchen or being king of the grill. My mother, the deejay, always comes through with the jams (and let me tell you, this woman is a music master mind! I dare ANYONE to challenge her!!). And the rest of us, we bring many other talents and our own type of fun to the table. If I went into all of that, this article would become very long! But just know that everyone in this family was touched by the most high in some phenomenal way when it comes to talents. So to sum this up, my family is the embodiment of true unconditional love, true joy, great times, togetherness, and so much more. Dealing with life's challenges, the challenge of being a single mother and just being single period, I've really needed all those things in my life. I'm thankful that I was given those things in the form of family.

Another thing I'm very thankful for this year, and I KNOW I'm not the only one...WINE!!! So yes, this year has been hard and with everyone being stuck in the house, I'm sure, like me, some form of an alcoholic beverage has gotten you through the lockdowns (haha :-D). I'm sure that liquor and wine companies have been very pleased with their skyrocketing sales this year! While it's never okay to overindulge in lieu of depression, etc., if, again like myself, you enjoyed drinks in the comfort and safety of your own home as a pass time during the pandemic, then cheers to you!!

Speaking of the pandemic, I'm SUPER thankful to still be surviving through this thing. I have not been sick with this virus. I still have my job, my home, and I'm still able to pay my bills. I've managed to still be able to feed myself and my little one. Even when it's been a struggle, there was always a way. I've been able to obtain everything that I need and then some throughout this entire time and I couldn't be more grateful and humbled by that. To those who have had it hard during this time in any way, my heart goes out to you. I believe that you will see major changes and major breakthroughs in your favor. I encourage you to keep the faith in this time and to keep striving to survive as best as you can. This too shall pass. Believe that!!

Lastly, I have to show thanks for creativity. I've always been blessed with the gift of song, but never wanted to be some famous singer. None-the-less, I still love and cherish that I was given this gift, even if I'm only an extremely great shower singer. Or even if I only kill it in front of my family on karaoke night (flips hair). But anyway, moving on! What I'm discovering more now about myself is my talent for writing beyond being a former college student. This is the journey that I'm feeling really compelled to embark on. Sharing my thoughts, feelings, experiences, and using my voice to encourage, inspire, and motivate others wherever I can. Because I KNOW that I can. I'm really thankful to be able to do that because it comes back full circle. If I can reach people in the best way by doing this, then I also continue to learn, inspire, and motivate myself.

So to close, I have to say thank you Vocal! Through this challenge, you have given me an opportunity to reflect on and share with others some great things to be thankful for this year. It's important to do that so that we never forget the beautiful things that we have that keep us going and that make life worth living. There's so much more that I could express that I'm thankful for, but again, this would be extremely long! Also, thank you for this platform! I am LOVING this experience and this has been a great place to start my writing journey. Because I AM just getting started!!

We are love. We are light. We are blessed.

Lisa