November 20th, 2023 – November 26th, 2023
As we did not have class this week due to the Thanksgiving break, I would like to share some of my reflections from over break:
Holidays are not easy. We always have particular expectations for them: waking up early, delicious dinner, polite family members. Of course, this never happens. Thanksgiving didn’t go to my plans at all. First of all, I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every single year, and I haven’t missed the start since I was in fifth or sixth grade. However, I missed it this year due to a new TV, and not being able to find the channel. Also, audio description was on for at least half of the parade, no matter what I did. Therefore, I was in a poor mood for a majority of the parade. Second, some of my family members were a little irritating, per usual, during the blessing of the food, which I’m not even sure why we do that, considering we’re not religious. It was an uncomfortable blessing to say the least. Third, the mashed potatoes were really garlic-y. Finally, I had a headache the entire day, and ended up sleeping through the entire dog show. Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.
You may be thinking now, “Riley, that doesn’t sound very grateful at all! All you did was complain!” And yes, that is true. I did just complain for an entire paragraph about an unfortunate Thanksgiving day. The parade did not set me up for success this year, and not gonna lie, neither did my period. But, but, but…
I still found tiny things to be grateful for throughout the whole weekend, even if there were some things that happened to contradict my perfect Thanksgiving. The blanket I slept under during the dog show was so nice and homey, warming me right up. I finished my December bullet journal spread the next day, filling pages up with doodles of Snoopy and Woodstock. The day prior, we went to the world’s largest Shoprite, and filled up our pantry with delicious drinks, snacks, and food. I took walks with my sibling and my grandmother, the cold air filling my lungs. The cornbread stuffing was SO GOOD. I got to take two nice, warm showers, BAREFOOT! I drank a cup of tea and a cup of hot chocolate, which were both delectable. I listened to my grandmother cheer loudly during a football game on TV, which I have never seen her do in my entire life! There was a fire going on our last evening there, which kept me nice and warm after my shower. Most of all, I got to spend time with my family, who I don’t get to see very often now that I don’t live at home full time. Sure, it could have been a better week, but it’s really the little things that matter most in life, and can make your day, weekend, or week incredible.
I’d like to share some pictures of some things that made me happy this week. Please enjoy my amateur photography, shot on an iPhone.
That’s all for this week! Thanks for listening.
