December 15, a day of gratitude. A day to tell people what you really think about them, how they have affected your lives (hopefully for the better).
When I read Jillian C. York’s post, I decided that it was time to write one of my own as well. Of course, no blog post I ever write will be quite enough; I have lived a blessed 23 years on this Earth, and have had the wonderful good fortune to have met many, many people who have added to my life in a way I had never imagined to be possible. There is too much to be grateful for to put in one modest post. Also, I might be a little late because we’re now in the early hours of December 16.
But perhaps I could offer up my humble excuse: I was out most of December 15 with my mother, running errands and just hanging out. Incidentally, there is no other way I would prefer to spend my day of gratitude.
We drove around town with Adam Lambert and Darren Hayes playing off my USB stick on the car stereo, but it got difficult to hear the lyrics since we kept talking over them, cracking jokes and being silly. I had to run an errand at the IT mall (which later turned out to be pointless) and then we were going to do some shopping. The original plan was to get me a new laptop bag after my last bag fell completely to pieces, but we ended up getting a new bag each, a Christmas present for my dad, and I ended up buying a new pair of boots.
By our standards, that’s a huuuuge amount of shopping.
I have much to be grateful to my mum (and dad) for. Beyond the obvious of giving me life, both my parents have worked hard to make sure that my life has been a charmed one. Even though I’m (mostly) grown-up now, I can quite safely say that I’ve never truly experience deprivation, nor have I ever really wanted for anything.
But even more important than that (as if that in itself weren’t important enough), my parents have always been happy to let me find my own way in life. They have never tried to interfere with my choice of school, subject, career, boyfriend or general path in life. They might not always like everything that I do, but they know that sometimes I have to make my own mistakes and find my own way. I would never have had the courage to do all that I’ve done and hope to do if they had not allowed me this space to write my own story.
All I need to do is take a look around me to know that I’m incredibly lucky to have parents like them. Not many parents are as comfortable as mine are at letting their kids figure things out for themselves. I don’t blame them; at the end of the day they are just trying to do the best they can for their children. But I will always, always feel fortunate for parents who support me even when it comes to making my own mistakes.
