Day 90: Home + Child Love

Today I learned...
...that what's really important is the circle of trust and love that exists at home. No matter what, there's always that. :-)

Today I am thankful for...
...a visit with my little niece and an evening of Disney movies.

Day 89: Respect + Long Chat

Today I learned...
...that respect is the ingredient that keeps people from being hurt in bad situations.

Today I am thankful for...
...a nice, long phone call with my buddy Alicia. :-)

Day 88: Closeness + Orange Juice Cheers

Today I learned...
...that closeness breeds more closeness.

Today I am thankful for...
...an omelet and biscuits for breakfast, and an orange juice "toast" with Rick. We clinked cups and he said, "Here's lookin' at you, kid." :-)

Day 87: Field Placement + Romance

Today I learned...
...that my field placement will end earlier than I thought it would. By April 11th, I will have enough hours to graduate - so for a couple of weeks, all I will have to worry about are classes and work. ;-)

Today I am thankful for...
...quality time and closeness with Rick. Finally.

Day 86: Art Therapy + Magical Conversations

Today I learned...
...lots of art therapy activities I can use with people with eating disorders.

Today I am thankful for...
...good conversation with a classmate, which led to exciting information.

Day 85: Gift + Sleeping Aids

Today I learned...
...that the anniversary gift I'm making for Rick is going to be freaking awesome. It's all coming together.

Today I am thankful for...
...tea and a book to (hopefully) help me get to sleep REALLY early tonight, since I have to get up at 4:40 tomorrow morning.

Day 84: Good Company + a Driver

Today I learned...
...the truth of the above quote. I found it in an old calendar at work today and was struck by it. It reminded me instantly of my grad school friends. This whole MSW experience initially seemed so long, but with good company we prevailed and made the best of everything.

Today I am thankful for...
...a solution to my driving dilemma for Wednesday. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get to Scranton for a colloquium and still make it back for class that night, because I am too afraid to drive all the way up there myself. A classmate came through for me just as I was resigning myself to backing out.

Day 83: History + To-Do List Success

Today I learned...
...that there is a lot of history in my own area of which I was never aware. I am doing a paper/presentation on Women's Suffrage in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, and while women's suffrage is one of my "things," I never thought to research some more local aspects of the movement. I am liking what I have found.

Today I am thankful for...
...getting a big chunk of my final assignments done. Yay! Still a long way to go, but definitely was able to cross some things off my To-Do List.

Day 82: Education + the Grad School Journey

Today I learned...
...that I have learned A LOT in the last 3 years. I had to write a final assignment for my social work program, and as I did so, I became more emotional than I realized I would become. It's been a long ride, but I am emerging different (in a good way) than when I began.

Today I am thankful for...
...being able to end this grad school journey in the presence of great people. I know I still have 5 weeks to go, but it's ending... and I am happy that the hard work will pay off. But I am also sad that the people who have been part of the journey won't be there every week. Cheering each other on has been fantastic and I will never forget it. That said, I don't plan on losing touch with everyone once we grab our diplomas and scream with joy. Still - it's the end of a journey. And I am thankful for the people I have met along the way.

 

[hahaha ;-) I made up a new word!]

Day 81: Perfectionsim + Tools

Today I learned...
...that it takes a lot longer to cure perfectionism than I originally thought. :-)

Today I am thankful...
...for all the tools I am learning to help combat my driving anxiety. Thank you, Dr. Salas!

Day 80: Opinions + a Caring Phone Call

Today I learned...
...that there are many different opinions of the same situation.

Today I am thankful for...
...a call from a fellow social worker who was expressing her care for me.

Day 79: Eye Contact + Willingness

Today I learned...
...that making eye contact/communication with my friends across a room is sometimes the only thing that can make a boring 3 hour class bearable. :-)

Today I am thankful for...
...the kindness and willingness of my friends to do something nice. :-)

Day 78: Caring + Safety

Today I learned...
...that people in my life really, really care about me if they think I'm in danger.

Today I am thankful for...
...the safety of people I know.

Day 77: Right Moments + Safety

Today I learned...
...that sometimes the right person finds the right thing at the right time. (See: Fast Food Friendship)

Today I am thankful for...
...returning home safely tonight. My 30 minute drive home from class took me an hour and I was white knuckled and nervous the whole way. The roads in this snow/sleet were terrible. Thank God our class got out early!

Day 76: Deviation + Down Time

Today I learned...
...that deviating from normal routine can be a very, very good thing!

Today I am thankful for...
...some down time, however fleeting. Cat cuddling, husband snuggling, ice cream, tea, and Project Runway - clearly not simultaneous...because Rick would never watch Project Runway. ;-)

Day 75: Cry + Lunch

 

Today I learned...

...that a good cry can be just that: good. There is purpose in most things.

Today I am thankful for...

...lunch with my parents. They fed me, they bestowed coffee upon me, and then they sent me back to work.

Day 74: Fear Responses + Early to Bed

Today I learned...
...that even when something FEELS scary, it doesn't necessarily mean it IS scary.

Today I am thankful for...
...going to bed at 8:15pm. Yes, that is correct. 8:15 pm. Too tired to continue this day any longer!

Day 73: Sleep + a Sweet Old Lady

Today I learned...
...that it's okay to say "no" to things and go to sleep. I am so wiped out and need to sleep right now. So I'm going...

Today I am thankful for...
...the sweet elderly woman I met at hospice today. She said, "Isn't she cute?" (about me) to people who were around, and then said to me, "I love your hair...I love your face...I love your earrings!...I love your little ears!" She really was adorable and wonderful. She said, "I hope your husband loves all those things too! And if he doesn't, I'll...have to punch him!" :-)

Day 72: Simplicity + Elimination of Work

Today I learned...
...that some things are as simple as we make them...including things for classes.

Today I am thankful for...
...our instructor eliminating a paper from our upcoming assignments. Thank God! I didn't know where I was going to find the time.

Day 71: Positive Facts + Rainy Day

Today I learned...

...that positive thinking can improve your life expectancy. This morning someone mentioned that regular negative thinking can take 16 years off your life and cited a local news station as the source. I'm thinking I'll live a very long time. :-)

Today I am thankful for...

...hospice home visits that allow for Starbucks stops, refuge from torrential rain, and long in-transit discussions (including Vampire Diaries chats) with a pleasant social worker. :-)

Day 70: Epiphanies + YOU

Today I learned...
...that there is more to my driving anxiety than meets the eye. New strategies have begun. I shall conquer you, driving phobia!

Today I am thankful for...
...YOU. Yes, all of you. I really mean it. It's awesome to wake up in the morning to a ton of messages or comments or emails or tweets or whatever. It's fantastic to know that you're loving positivity and are learning from gratitude. It's great to have to tell myself to go to bed at night, because I keep wanting to respond to your beautiful words. I LOVE being connected to the world. I love being connected to all of YOU. I love being part of something bigger. I love knowing that we're all part of the human race, leaving our unique impact. :-)

Day 69: Prioritizing + Cleaning Favors

Today I learned...
...not to make things harder than they need to be. I prioritized school work instead of making myself crazy, did what HAD to be done, rather than everything that exists to be done, and I felt less rushed and more in charge.

Today I am thankful for...
...Rick cleaning my whole car (vacuuming and cleansing all the windows and surfaces) and Rick cleaning my whole bathroom shower. HE IS AMAZING. And a bit of a neat freak. But man, both of those things seriously needed cleaning. And I didn't have to do it. 

Day 68: Hard Work + Mother-in-Law

Today I learned...
...that working hard is tiring, but feels really good! I volunteered at a charity event for my job tonight until quite late...and while I worked last 11pm, I realized that being super busy and reaching goals gave me a huge sense if satisfaction as I drove home.

Today I am thankful for...
...being able to visit with my mother-in-law. She's so sweet and I love her. I hadn't seen her for a few weeks.

Day 67: Solution + Help

Today I learned...
...that my driving anxiety can be rectified!

Today I am thankful for...
...the psychotherapist who is going to help me conquer my specific phobia anxiety (driving alone) and the associated panic attacks ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Day 66: Listening + Sibling Emails

Today I learned...
...that even when you think people aren't listening, they often are.

Today I am thankful for...
...the opportunity to email my brother and tell him about a variety of cool things.

Day 65: ALS + Positivity

Today I learned...
...that people facing the bleakest of fates can be inspirational, motivated, and positive. I learned about ALS (http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html) from someone who has it...and how it affects people firsthand and secondhand. And in turn, I was affected too.

Today I am thankful for...
...the chance to show someone that injecting a little positivity and gratitude into a regular day's events can change outcomes. :-)

Day 64: Sleep + Support Group

Today I learned...
...I need more sleep. So tonight I'm going to bed at 9:00 pm. Rick's orders.

Today I am thankful for...
...the women in the support group I lead. They are strong, they are committed, and they are compassionate. I am proud to walk beside them through their journeys.

Day 63: Lack of Food + Extras

Today I learned...
...of someone who has to stand in a food pantry line for hours once a week just to feed her children. It really broke my heart. I wanted to take her to the store straightaway and buy her groceries...but I remembered my professional boundaries. Well, I never forgot my professional boundaries... but part of me wanted to help her in a more direct way than I was.

Today I am thankful for...
...extra time with Rick due to no class tonight, extra time to email my friend, and the rest of the massive piece of chocolate cake from yesterday's lunch. ;-)

Day 62: Knowledge + Study Group Antics

Today I learned...
...that I am more prepared for the licensure exam than I thought. I think our little study group got 90% of the practice questions right this afternoon.

Today I am thankful for...
...3 mugs of coffee, lunch of champions, a massive piece of chocolate cake (with ice cream), girl-chatter, social work discussions, an iPhone app that allows us to study for licensure, and all the other components of today's study group. :-)

Day 61: Compromise + Family Time

Today I learned...
...that compromise always exists.

Today I am thankful for...
...dinner and laughter with Rick, my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my little niece. That little girl is highly entertaining. She sang, she danced, she read us books, she counted, she recited her ABCs, and she made us all laugh. Only in this world for 2 years and she's a bundle of hilarity. :-)

Day 60: Gratitude at Work + Safe Return

Today I learned...
...that one of my friends is seeing changes by incorporating more gratitude into her life. I love it!

Today I am thankful for...
...the safe return of my friend to her home in NYC and all the experiences she had while away in Chicago. :-)