Tonight I met a friend for a glass of wine and a chat. Although she talked me into doing an exercise class first. I’m thankful for friends who want to help better me.

Monday. But I’m thankful for the long overdue massage I had tonight.

We went to a favorite winery to see what it looked like in the snow. We enjoyed a glass of wine and a cheese platter in the quiet barn. I’m thankful for afternoons that deviate from the norm.

Today I am thankful for softly falling snow that covers everything in a clean canvas.

Friday! It was another long day but I’m grateful to be entering another weekend.

During a meeting at work we were presented with a financial overview of the college. More doom and gloom. The difficulties with Illinois politics only adds to the stresses we already face. However, I’m thankful that the folks I work with continually try to stay optimistic and collaborate on finding solutions to our issues.

Because we already celebrated last weekend, we stayed home for the holiday. Patrick still made a delicious meal and we exchanged small gifts. He gave me a sweet necklace and bath items; I gave him a cookbook and silly toys for his office. I’m thankful for the low stress way we decided to celebrate this year.

I spent most of my day sitting on an interview committee. The hiring process has changed so much since I was first hired–there are a lot more hoops now–and I felt rather bad for the applicants and the stress they must be going through. Today I was especially grateful to be on the hiring committee and not the one in the hot seat.

Why is it that even after a long weekend, it still seems like it wasn’t long enough? I didn’t have too much on my work calendar today, however, so I was able to finish up some paperwork and visit department meetings to finalize schedules. I’m grateful to have been able to wrap up some items without a lot of stress today.

The snow keeps coming this weekend. I haven’t made it to the gym lately, but I don’t feel bad after all the shoveling I’ve done. Thankfully, we were still able to make it to a friend’s house for a birthday party where we had a lovely time.