What I'm Thankful For

in no particular order my sappy list of things I'm thankful for
(there are so many other things but I'm not writing a book here!)

1. My Mom - out of all the people in the whole world - she was the only person that supported me when I decided to leave everything - and move to Europe. This truly surprised me. I thought she would be the one person that would be angry, confused, or just sad. Almost 5 years later - her kid is still over here - and although she misses me - she is still my biggest fan. She has always allowed me to by myself, loved me despite all my mistakes, and she has never clipped my wings. Thank you mom, so so much.

2. My life - I'm guilty of waking up some mornings and thinking " Help, I'm alive" I tend to be a bit under the weather a lot. ( this is a nice and polite way of saying that I struggle with depression and have since I was a child ). I take for granted sometimes that I am alive! I'm so thankful to be alive even though I sometimes wish I wasn't. The world is so beautiful and there is so much I haven't seen and done yet. I am thankful that some stardust decided to mix with some DNA and create me. Thank you higher beings!

3. My talents - When  I was little I wanted to be everything ( writer, artist, vet, paramedic, architect, etc). I thought that I would be everything, and that I could be everything. Well .. I learned the hard way that I wouldn't be able to be all of those things. I tried and ended up with a lot of half accomplished goals. In the end  - as I failed over and over again - I learned one thing. Accept what I'm good at. What am I good at? I'm a creative. I'm good at art. I'm good at ideas. I'm good at dreaming. So I've embraced my talents and accepted that I'll never be a super secret lover agent man ( reference to Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block).  I am so thankful that I'm able to create art every single day and do what I love! I know that not everyone gets to do that - and I will never take working from home for granted. Thank you to everyone that has supported me along the way - and to all my lovely customers! I could not have done any of this without you.

4. Music - Not a day goes by that I don't listen to music. It moves me. Inspires me. Cheers me up. Hugs me when I'm sad. It pulls emotions out of me that I didn't know I had. It renews me. It calms me. It makes me still. It makes me wild. It makes me loud. It makes feel sexy. I makes me feel alive. It makes me feel awake.
It's my secret weapon. It's probably why I've survived some hardships that I have survived in my life. I'm so thankful that music exists in the world. Thank you to anyone and everyone that shares their beautiful music with the world.

5. My husband - How could I write a list of things I'm thankful for without mentioning the husband? I wish that I could go back to the day that he looked at me and said " you like me " and freeze that moment. I wish I could have known that in that single moment my whole world was about to change. I wish I could go back to our first date when he told me " this feels a lot like love" and not be so uptight about it. LOL. Yes my husband told me that he was in love with me on our first date - and I didn't believe it. I was thinking - yeah sure. American girl in Europe -  you're a Dutch guy thinking you're going to pull a fast one over my eyes. Not a chance buddy! Long story short - we're married now. In the start we both didn't think our dating would turn into anything - we didn't want to be serious. We struggled with a lot of things in our relationship and staying together every single year. It seemed impossible to mesh our lives together - and we had the big trouble with the legal issues and visas. We almost even broke up several times - because we didn't think we'd find a way to be together. I'm so thankful that he never gave up on me - on us. He was much stronger then me towards the end and I was ready to walk away from everything because I was so tired of long distance and fighting the government. He has pulled out of me qualities that I didn't know I had. In the last 5 years I have grown into a strong - independent - feisty women - who will stop at nothing until I reach my dreams. He has even taught me how to do three things that I never thought would be possible : I can iron decently now. I have learned that onions will not kill me. He has also taught me to cook! This man loves me just as I am - on my worst day... on my best day... I'm so thankful for that.


So - now it's your turn! what are you thankful for? This link party is hosted by the blog Rouge & Whimsy - make sure to click on the links below to find out what others are thankful for this year!