Today my phone woke me up at 4:30 AM. “Ding, Ding, Dididididinggggg!”
My phone usually rests on one of the tall dressers in my bedroom when I sleep. I read a study about sleeping too close to your phone a few years back and am now paranoid about A. Getting cancer from it, and B. I use it as a genius method to force myself out of bed every morning because I physically have to get up and walk across my bedroom to turn the alarm off.
“Ding, Ding, Ding.”
I grumpily roll out of bed to see why my phone is going crazy. It’s emails. Tons and tons of BLACK FRIDAY emails.
Last night I went to the grocery store (biggest mistake of the day). I was left with the responsibility of the roasted vegetable side dish for today’s Thanksgiving feast. All I needed were some lowly brussel sprouts. Two hours and five stores later, I slumped home with one measly half-rotting bag of brussel sprouts (if any of my family members are reading this, I am sorry, I will make sure to not ruin Thanksgiving dinner next year). 90% of people don’t even like brussel sprouts anyways!
Why am I telling you any of this?
As I was driving home from my fifth store last night, I looked at my sister who had so bravely endured the shopping mission with me. We had no brussel sprouts, but we were happy. We had each other. We shared bursts of laughter as we raced through each store to only find empty containers of what used to be the Thanksgiving gold of all vegetables. We shared great conversation on the way to each store. It reminded me of how blessed I am.
It’s so easy to get caught up in finding the deal of the century on Black Friday or making the perfect side dish. Yet, how often do we actually sit down and reflect on what we are thankful for? How often do we remove the phone from our hands and truly enjoy our loved ones’ company?
This might be a cliche Thanksgiving post but here are a few things I am thankful for today:
- My family. The only ones who completely understand my weirdness, and love me anyway.
- My husband. The only one who would ever decide to marry my weirdness. Who supports all of my crazy and creative endeavors, and celebrates every small milestone for Style Her Strong and my work career with me.
- My daughter. For her fresh and magical outlook on life, and for the immense amount of joy she brings with her spirited personality. She has made me slow down, and appreciate the small things.
- The opportunity to do what I love. When Lilly was born, I left my job as a personal trainer to be a mostly stay at home mom with her. I held on to one group fitness class that I loved and couldn’t let go of. Fast forward three years, I am still teaching that amazing group of fitness enthusiasts. They are my other family and in addition to that, I am now working as a stylist for Stitch Fix. The two jobs bring balance to my life. My love of fitness and my creative outlet are fulfilled daily because of what I do for a living. That alone brings so much fullness and happiness into my life, and I truly am so thankful to be able to do what I love daily AND still be able to be home with Lilly.
- My community. Our church, our gym, our friends, Lilly’s school. There are so many people who love and support my family, and I couldn’t be more thankful to live in such a loving and supportive community.
On that note, LET’S EAT! I hope you all have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving surrounded by your family, loved ones, and a bounty of food and love! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Be Blessed!
xoxo,
Kalyn
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