Grateful For in 2021

This Thanksgiving was so good, and also kinda hard. I am back performing in Winter Wonderland on Ice at Sea World! I am right in the middle of finals for school. This is our first (and last!) Thanksgiving engaged! I had a wonderful morning watching the parade and sipping coffee quietly in my PJ's. I had a good cry. I watched a friend's dog. I did some yoga. I went to work. I felt sad and lonely and anxious between shows, and wasn't sure if I could muster. We got back to the hotel at 10:30, and we had a fantastic Thanksgiving cast party in my hotel room. There were Apple Cider Margaritas, a cheese board, and pancakes! A truly wonderful time. All in all, so grateful for the day (even the hard parts). 

My overwhelming feeling as we enter the holidays this year is just awe. I am in awe of this incredible life, and the fact that I get to live it. I am honored that I do feel like I'm making my middle-school self proud. I am dizzied by how much life has changed in two years, not to mention five years! I am so, so grateful to feel myself inching closer to the brave, kind, put together, fun type of person I want to be. What an honor to grow older! What an honor to grow deeper. 

I am still so much in process, but I am grateful to be in the process. Coming out of this year in particular, here is what I'm grateful for:

I am proud & grateful for the boundaries I have set with family.

I am proud & grateful for getting a dog, and learning I actually love dogs. 

I am proud & grateful for the relationship Chris and I have built, and the ways we prioritize each other.

I am proud & grateful for how much Chris and I value growing outside of each other.

I am proud & grateful that I went back to school, and am still in school, even when it's hard.

I am proud & grateful to still be skating, and to know that this is what I really, really want.

I am proud & grateful for learning how to cook over the past two years.

I am proud & grateful for how much easier it is this contract to sit quietly by myself.

I am proud & grateful for the friendships I have from so many different places.

I am proud & grateful for our adventurous Instagram-able life.

I am proud & grateful for our cozy, private, slow-cooker life. 

I am proud & grateful for how I'm learning to be more nuanced in every area of my life. 

Hope you're all cozy & safe & cared for & having a wonderful start to your holiday season. 

xoxo Gillian

Grateful for in 2020, Grateful for in 2015.