Being thankful on the Holidays...

It's often hard to practice what you preach. Working with kids I'm constantly asking them what they are thankful for. We made Christmas/thank you cards the last day of class in my 2nd job and @ the museum we've been teaching a class about how sharing is caring, so we've been donating to a home (similar to Ronald McDonald house) that's for kids with cancer. Christmas is about giving not receiving, but for this Christmas all I want is for someone to give me a break. I worked so hard to get this promotion and they dangled it in my face to then rip it away for at least another 6months maybe longer, but I sure did get an extra work load for no extra money (one of the perks of working for a non-profit). Believe me I am so thankful for having a job, especially one that I enjoy so much, but I'm ready for new challenges and I really wanted this... now it may never happen. I'm worried about our holiday travels... no car (which is an entirely different story), the weatherman is predicting snow here, there, and everywhere in between only on the day we travel. Ug! DIA's plane crash has caused and uproar and runways have been shut down and tons of planes delayed. *On a side note out of the 110 crew/passengers aboard this flight only 38 were injured, 2 critically and the rest were released yesterday. The 2 critical condition women are still hanging in there and were most likely hurt worse, because of the mass chaos not the actual crash. They are expected to be doing better soon. I'm so thankful that no one was seriously injured and everyone survived. I hope they figure out the problems and fix them immediately. This may have been a scarey, but good learning experience for everyone involved.* The car problems are of course worse than I had originally hoped. The cold snap on the day the starter died was just coincidental which happend to then mask the starter problem and lead me to believe it could have been a meriad of other things (things that would have been much cheaper and easier to fix). Oh it's just my luck that they aren't. Why is it that over the Holiday season we seem to receive more bills... of course my 6month car insurance payment is due 3 days after Christmas. Santa all I only want 2 things.... Everyone & everything to give me a break for once and a little cash to pay off my bills, so I won't be broke when I get home after Christmas. Ok ok enough ranting about my problems, beacause yes they are annoying to me but they don't effect anyone else. I really am grateful for so many things. I'm grateful to my wonderful family and I wish I could see them more often, especially now while things are rough for them. I'm grateful for meeting Jesse and how nice his family has been to me. They all make me feel so comfortable like I'm right at home. I'm grateful to have a job in this terrible economy and especially one that I enjoy. I've had 2 jobs this year plus a pretty impressive side gig babysitting all of which are jobs that involve teaching, taking care of, and helping others... 3 things that I enjoy most. If I couldn't work with kids or help others in someway I think I would really hate my job. I've worked in an office building... boring, so not for me and I've worked in retail... aggravating, so not for me either. I am not meant to sell things to people. I believe I'm meant to help others. The best moment of my past year was probably in my Catholic Charities job when I got a small 4yr old girl to finally open up and talk after over a month of nothing. It was such an amazing feeling to have her talk to me. It felt good to be the person she trusted enough to open up to and I'm so grateful to Catholic Charities and Ms. Doris my boss for giving me that opportunity. I'm grateful for having good friends and co-workers who help me out while my car is incopasitated. I'm grateful for having a nice apartment and good neighbors. I guess what I'm getting at is I need to take some of my own advice and think about what I'm thankful and happy for this holiday season not what I'm worried about. Maybe we should all do that. Let's all be thankful that we are healthy and have loved ones to share the holidays with. Happy Holidays everyone.