The most beautiful thing I saw all weekend

Today I experienced something beautiful.

I was driving over to check in on a dog I’ve been sitting for while his owner is away for Thanksgiving. I was upset over something (sidenote, people: there are right ways and wrong ways to say things – choose your words carefully). As I pulled up to a red light at an intersection of typical Texan highway pandemonium, the tears began to fall. A homeless man with a Sharpie-on-cardboard sign perched on a grassy median saw me, and began to approach my car.

He didn’t ask for money. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a clean napkin and offered it to me to dry my eyes. I immediately stopped crying.

Sometimes, the selfless beauty of human kindness just awes me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I think this is one of the best holidays of the season (and I'm a holiday junkie). Not only do you get to eat an amazing assortment of food (or even more exciting, cook it!), generally you get to take some time to rest on your haunches, relax with family and friends, watch a little football, and enjoy the simple pleasure of not doing anything. I don't think we as Americans do this often enough: be still and enjoy the simplicity of just being.

I'd like to take just a moment to honor this holiday and play the Thanksgiving Game by saying what this last year on earth has graced me with. You can never count your blessings too often. <3

I'm grateful that my old program allowed me to leave gracefully, and though the situation was unique and the time constraints tight, I was able get a degree. I am grateful for all of the help I'd received and all I'd learned from them...it truly was a growing experience.

I'm grateful for my family and my close friends whom I still keep in touch with, no matter what the physical distance is between us, and who will never fail to be completely honest with me when I implore the truth. They love me as I am, and are not afraid to point out my faults and tell me when I'm wrong. That is love.

I'm grateful for the new friends I've been making, for my incredible luck in finding what I think are some of the greatest people in Austin to befriend. I am so grateful for that. :-)

I'm grateful for knowing when to let go and for learning how to deal. I've learned when to know that a person's chapter in your life is closed, and when things are no longer worth fighting for or worrying about. When it's time to turn the page, let go of any emotions (sadness/anger), and just accept and move on to a greater good.

I'm grateful (oh so very very grateful) that I've found a vocation that will make me happy. I'm more confident as this semester comes to a close that switching programs was not an "expensive mistake" as I originally feared it might be. I'm grateful to be under the training of one of the nation's top programs and to know over the next two and half years I will acquire the skills necessary to help people. To make a difference. Finally, finally, finally....I'm so grateful to understand the passion for a career that I've seen in people around me, and that I was jealous of. Finally, I understand.

I'm grateful to have found a lover who wants me just as I am. I'm grateful he understands my artistic, Fish-based nature. He appreciates my emotional sensitivity. He accepts my quirks: my compulsive baking, my delusional stalking of potential dogs on Craigslist, my eternally childlike outlook and my playfulness, my sense of adventure and inability to keep surprises, my clumsiness, the fact that I will always seem to run into the nearest wall/piece of furniture, and that I make a huge mess every time I eat anything.

I'm grateful that I live in what I think is one of the coolest cities in the country. I'm grateful that I've found the place in the world that is absolutely perfect for who I am right now. I'm grateful there is so much outdoorsy stuff to do, so many like-minded open individuals, and so much laid-back happiness. Honestly, I am deeply and incredibly in love with my city, and am so happy I came here. <3

Lastly, I'm grateful for myself, in a way. I know it sounds a little odd...but I'm grateful that I've gotten to know myself over the past two years. I've learned to live on my own, to be my own best friend. I've developed independence, and I know more about what I like and what I want. I'm happy that I've found a path to self-love, and am enjoying the journey along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

November update

So that horrible cold that I had a few weeks ago may have in fact been (brace yourselves…) the flu. I was sick for a little over two weeks (first week wanting to die, and the next week with an unrelenting cough). When my boyfriend came back into town, he stopped by to visit me but we were both very careful not to get too close or cuddly with each other. A few days later, he was direly sick as well with all of the same symptoms I had (except he had a nasty fever, too). We were quite the couple though, and spent the weekend curled up on the couch watching movies and eating soup. He also introduced me to Theraflu, which was surprisingly a lot of fun…it made me really giddy. :-)

November has been exciting. I went on an impromptu trip to San Diego with one of my friends. We had a great time and were able to travel incredibly cheaply, and stayed in a hostel which was both exciting and inexpensive. San Diego is such an amazing city. I was so impressed by the people. Austin prides itself with having laid back and friendly inhabitants, but I felt that San Diego put even Austin to shame!

I’ve started getting observation hours in at the on-campus clinic. I’ve really enjoyed it (I’ve only observed adults so far), but it’s so great to watch how the clinician and patient interact together and to know that I will be there in that room in less than a year. It’s a little bit intimidating, but mostly exciting! :-)

I’ve also started babysitting a little bit more. It has been an eye-opener. I always tolerated kids, but I hated babysitting in high school. In college I worked with kids’ day camps, which were okay. But now, for the first time ever, I’ve actually found myself truly enjoying working with children. I love it, and even look forward to it - I find some of the "lil ‘uns" completely endearing. It’s weird. I don’t know where this came from. I guess maybe its part of me growing up? I feel like I’m so good with kids now, too…when and how did that happen so naturally? It’s a great feeling though. It’s actually making me considering possibly working with both adult and child populations in the future.

Last night was the Leonid meteor shower. I stayed up until 4 a.m. to watch them. I laid out on the hood of my car bundled up in my sweats and just gave myself up to nature for some time. It was peaceful and serene (and absolutely freezing), but I was able to catch a few good shooting stars to wish upon. Totally worth it. The best one I've ever seen was the August 2005 meteor shower in Canada. That was breathtaking. I hope I get to see another one like that someday soon.

Ok.

Enough for now. <3