Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! This year, the holiday might look a lot different for many people. I hope that you have a wonderful day however you are choosing to spend your Thanksgiving this year.
2020 didn’t turn out how any of us would have expected. But, it’s been my prayer this whole year that something good can still come out of this. So, today, I thought it would be fun to look back on some of the things that I am so grateful for this year.
Whether it’s been the ability to connect with friends and family virtually to reconfiguring the workplace to just spending more time at home – I hope you have some positives that you can look back on. From my family, to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.
January
In January, we took a long weekend to see our friends in St. Louis. We got to meet their precious baby boy and spend some quality time together. Little did we know that we would go so long without seeing them.
February
In February, we hosted a little Super Bowl party at our house. We had some friends over for some food – and watching the commercials 🙂 That was also the last time we hosted a group of our friends at the old house.
March
Aaron and I attended the wedding of two our our friends. I remember going into work on Friday, March 13 and knowing that we would be working from home for a bit of time. We had the rehearsal dinner that evening and the wedding the next day. Aaron and I decided that we would be staying at home starting the day after the wedding. That’s when the severity really kicked in.
April
This month was when some anxiety really started to kick in. I was adjusting to working from home full-time, and the world as we knew it was significantly different. I’m a “glass is half full” type of girl, but I was struggling. I knew I needed to get out and do something that seemed familiar, so we went out and started exploring parts of Houston that we hadn’t seen before. We visited the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center (you can read more about that here).
May
We made a trip to Belton, Texas to visit my in-laws. They had been cooped up since March, and we decided to pack up the dogs and visit his family. This visit was good for my soul. My in-laws have tons of space to let the dogs run free. We did some kayaking and visited with my father-in-law’s sheep.
June
I’m going to call June the month of the Zoom. I consider myself to be an introverted extrovert. I love my people, but I also like to take some time for myself. But, by June, I needed to see my people. So, we jumped on zoom. I was Zoom-ing with my family (the Taniguchi side of my family did a big zoom call), I was zooming with some sorority sisters and zooming with friends. It was so nice to be together, even if we were apart.
July
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. We’ve done a big pool party for the fourth since I moved to Houston in 2011. Needless to say, I was sad to forego that tradition this year. But, Aaron and I started the day off with a long bike ride through Downtown Houston . They closed off some of the main streets for fireworks later on in the day, so we were able to ride on the road safely without any fear of cars. Bonus: we rode our bikes up those same streets later that night and got a front-row view to the fireworks.
August
In August, we celebrated our four-year anniversary in Rockport. You can read more about that trip here.
September
And in September, we closed on our new house. You can read all about that here. And, if you’re wondering, it continues to be a blessing.
October
October was a whirlwind. In between moving and getting settled – it was busy. While we didn’t feel comfortable having a large gathering, we were able to host some friend groups separately in our new home.
November
And that brings us to November. I’m thankful that this year, I was able to still participate in the Boot Walk. This particular event is a labor of love for the committee and the generous individuals who first manifested this idea. I was happy to be able to walk six miles in honor of all those who are currently undergoing treatment, are caring for someone undergoing treatment or who have been touched by cancer. I’m thinking of you.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
