Thanksgiving, eh.

After that last post, there was no way that I could not go down this road. And I think that I can justify it because Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving. While I'm not Canadian, I do love Canada, I have quite a few Canadian friends--I even lived with one for a while--and I've kissed my fair share as well. But this is not about my exploits in the Great White North (those would have made the accomplishment list five years ago). This is about me recognizing my accomplishments in this year.

One of my greatest fears--aside from live fish--would be complacency. I have always been the type of person who is striving for perfection, or at least constant improvement. While this relentless pursuit of the impossible can be quite exhausting, it's also been the drive behind where I've landed today. It is certainly not a bad thing to be motivated by self-improvement, but it is a bad thing to not take a breath, look around, and give gratitude for where I am and who I have become. With that, I provide this cathartic release of what I have accomplished over the past year (the highs and the lows)*:

• I got a new job--heck a new career. The one I've been dreaming about for over 3 years.
• I bought a house, all by myself **(okay, I own the front door of the house that the bank owns, but it's a really really nice front door).
• I painted all of the rooms inside of that house... and climbed several other domestic-type mountains.
• I fell in and out of love.
• I survived falling in and out of love, and each day is getting better
• I turned 30!
• I ran the Portland marathon (and ran my fastest time, ever 3:51:48), but the most important thing is that I made some great new friends doing it.
• I learned how to play soccer. I even scored a goal, granted it was for the other team on my own goalie, but a goal nonetheless.
• I made myself a legend in Prairie du Chien, WI with an impressive Thanksgiving karaoke extravaganza.
• I never gave up, even when it seemed like that was the easiest and most logical thing to do. When the going got tough, I got tougher--and things worked out in the end.

Sure, some of these accomplishments may not be huge, weighty things, but they are all things that I have done with my whole heart and soul. And that feels good. After I take a few more seconds, er minutes, er moments, to reflect on them and start aiming for what's next, I know that big or small, enjoyable or painful, I can accomplish many things. And that I deserve to enjoy them all.

Note to self: Being thankful should not be reserved for late November. This was good for you, you should do this more often.

*I realize that this might be a boring post for any of you readers out there... but then I realize, I don't have any readers yet, ha!

**So this technically didn't happen in 2007 just a few months before, but I'm still very proud of that accomplishment, and because this is my blog and I'm the boss of it, I'm keeping this on the list.