With all of the challenging, frustrating, difficult and stressful moments that consume our day, it can be hard sometimes to remember that there are far more positive events to outweigh them. The negative has a nasty habit of taking over our thoughts, and it take a true concerted effort to squash them. This past week I was reminded often of this, and I as I sat here trying to think of what to write today, I made a very conscious effort to pull forth the positives in my life and to really sit in the happiness that they bring me. What I came to quickly realize is that I have a great deal of people for whom to express this gratitude and, while I’m not going to be able to call out everyone in one post, I’m truly hoping that my everyday actions will let them know just how important they are in my life.
My week started with the introduction of a new Zelda game. This may seem an odd thing to call out in a post about gratitude, but stick with me here. Yes, I am grateful in one way for the developers over at Nintendo for their continued, top-tier efforts and talents to deliver yet another solid entry in a decades old franchise, but that’s not really where I want direct my message of thanks today. No, the gratitude I have on this topic is directed very specifically to my wife. For 12 years she has never once judged or questioned my passion for this video game franchise; quite the contrary, in fact. Every few years when one a new title is released, she tells me how happy she is to see me sit on the couch and play for little bits at a time. It’s one of the few occasions that I take time for me and only me, and she knows, supports, and encourages that. I know that’s not everyone’s view on video games, but knowing that it means more to me than just geeking out on a game, and that it’s not an every day (or even every year) event, she purposefully provides me this time for my well-being.
Next up in my week – Family. I arrived home to an envelope sitting on our kitchen counter. It had clearly had come from my parents, left there after they had made a special and dedicated trip to Elora to ensure that I had their thoughts and love on my birthday and no later. My parents care for others has always been present in my life and there is no letting up 43-years later. They are a kind, considerate, and loving team who think and plan ahead to ensure that everyone, but especially family, know that they are cared for. It was a lovely little surprise to come home to, even though I should have seen it coming :). The second message received was from my brother, who, before I even woke up, took the time to send me the first thoughtful note of the day. Honestly that may not sound like a major deal, but I love hearing from my brother; he has always meant so much to me throughout my life and to wake up and start my day knowing that he thought of me first thing in the morning is better than any gift I could ask for. Love you bro.
Family, of course, grows beyond who we grew up with of might find in our childhood albums, and I am grateful for my mother in law. She supports us and those around her in every way you could imagine. She is always finding new ways of teaching, inspiring and caring for all of her grandchildren, and the lessons they bring home from her go beyond what she may realize. Because of here they want to know more about nature, and animals and the environment. Because of her they want to explore museums. Because of her they want to travel to far away places and meet interesting people. She encourages interesting conversation and is always surprising me with her next adventure. I am grateful for the time that she provides and for how she continues to inspire.
For 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, I share experiences with a group of people to whom I am truly grateful. That isn’t always the case when it comes to workspaces. Work has its challenges and not everything is all sunshine and rainbows, that’s for sure, but even in the most frustrating of times, I am grateful to have a crew that lets me know I’m not alone. We work through things together in a way that, for the most part, allows us to leave those frustrations at work and not bring them into our homes at the end of the day. Throughout this week, these individuals took extra time to remind me how valued these work-friendships are. Be it a message on Teams, a trinket on my desk, treats to share with my family, or an epic Zelda Lego set, I felt the love all week and, honestly, that doesn’t typically happen at places of work.
Friends, it should go without saying, have my gratitude every day of the year, not just on special occasions. Yes, we all have our “social media” crew of friends who send us well wishes and keep us informed on the major life events, and they are no less wonderful people, but the friends I’m referring to right now are those that are an extension of my family. Theses are the friends who have you phone number and reach out to you directly when things matter most. They are personal connections that know more about me than anyone because of the decades of experiences we’ve shared. Whether it has been through our experiences in college, kitchens, record stores, concerts, apartments, weddings, book publishing, game nights, escape rooms, road trips, back country camping trips, the Taco Bell drive through, $2 cheeseburgers, Heaven Scent, prank wars, play dates with our kids, dressing as Waldo, or any other of the myriad of shenanigans I could list, they know who they are and I try purposefully to let them know how I feel about them. This week I had those same feels in return.
Yeah, it was a good week.
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