Today, I'm thankful for...

"Thank you Lord on this day for our many good blessings. Thank you Lord on this day for all our many good friendships."

It's Thanksgiving in Canada once again. Last year's seems just like yesterday; I was in the Philippines around this time in 2013 and wasn't really able to get into the spirit of the celebration. Because I have to leave for Toronto again today and since we are not really the turkey type of family (we prefer "litson"/roast pig because we're Filipinos), we celebrated Thanksgiving this year a day earlier by having lunch at an Asian restaurant yesterday. 

With or without turkey on the table, I think the true essence of the holiday is to be grateful for all your blessings. There are blessings that every day and night I thank the Lord for, but on occasions like this that it becomes very apparent that, each year, God gives us so many new blessings. 

Today and everyday, here are things I'm really grateful for:

1. Family

My parents, Thea and I are all growing older. And as we grow older, I am happy that we are not growing apart. My parents are becoming more like "older friends" now, whom you can chat with about work and life, and dreams and future plans on a deeper level. My folks had always loved listening to my dreams and plans and all of my stories (almost on a daily basis) when I was young, but it had been a one way street. Because I'm older now, I have the maturity to listen to them too and support their endeavours. Sometimes I feel like the parent na nga. ;D Even my sister, who used to spend a lot of time with her friends and boyfriend, always make time to hang out with us now. We still have disagreements once in a while and whenever we disagree, it's challenging, but I guess it's normal in every family.

My colleagues at work felt bad for me when they found out that I have to commute for almost 3 hours from Tdot to Hamilton and vice versa every weekend. I told them not to feel bad since seeing my family every week relieves my stress, even if they sometimes also create stressful situations at home (it's all part of the fun). ;) What's 2.5 hours compared to the precious moments you get to spend with your family, right?

2. Career

I've always been a career woman. Ever since I was young, I know I want to be successful and happy in my career. When I didn't have a full-time job last year and was living off my savings, I felt kinda bad. I remember asking one of my friends why I am obsessed with career, even though life is not all about it. I knew I was fooling myself when I asked that question. Every person has goals to pursue and the goals that one prioritize above all are what give him/her purpose. For me, my priorities in life are my family and my career (notice that they are numbers 1 and 2 on this list). Others tell me to prioritize looking for "love" now before it's too late, but I know that person will come when the time is right. No matter how much I deny that career is not really important, it is the way I was born. The way I am structured is to always have the thirst to succeed in life. Maybe not to be Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey successful (or if given the opportunity, why not), but just be Thessa successful. I know I'm not there yet, but I'm enjoying the journey really much!

I am thankful that after being unemployed for half a year, God blessed me with two jobs (and another freelance writing job). I have a day job, which supports my needs, and a creative job, which helps me build my portfolio and  allows me to do the things I like to do. I have also just renewed my contract with my freelance writing job, which helps me earn extra bucks. Despite being so busy every week (day job just launched a new partner and creative job launching a new campaign) and not being able to vacation till spring time next year, I love the thrill! I feel productive, I feel happy, I feel purposeful. And that's what's important. :)

3. Friends

I might not have as many friends as I used to have before, but I'm thankful for having friends I can rely on, even if we don't see each other that much (as some of them are back in Pinas). I believe in quality over quantity and I'm proud to say that my closest friends are "high quality". ;)

4. Home

Our home :)

Because I was busy with work, I didn't even realize that we have been living in our house for two years now! It's not a big house - a 30-year-old town house on a corner lot - but I don't know why the first time we saw it, we fell in love right away and immediately felt that it was home. Up to this day, we still love the house (kahit it's so hard to shovel snow and rake leaves falling from our trees).

Bought this from the Philippines and hung it on our front door

It makes me happy every time people come to our humble abode and say it's a very charming/ nice house. I think when the people living inside a house work hard to make a house feel like "home", the energy is being passed to/ felt by others who come visit it. Having said all of that, I thank the Lord for giving us a roof over our head and a home where the heart is. ;)

5. My 25 years on Earth and Inay's (my grandma's) 95

Photo by my cousin, Ryan P.

Since I was 23, I had been dreading the day I turn 25 years old. I felt like 25 is closer to 30 than to 20 to be honest, and for me it's scary. Hahaha! But when the day came, all my fears went away. It's actually exciting to be 25 (for the most part)! I now know what I want in life and am more confident to achieve them. I realized I have learned so much and experienced a lot in the past 25 years, so really, I should be thankful. 

And here are some photos from my grandma's 95th birthday celebration:

Inay's birthday photos courtesy of Ate Cheekee Perez

I feel kinda sad not to be able to fly home for her special day, but God knows how grateful and blessed I feel for having the opportunity to have spent a lot of time with my grandmother. Some people don't even get to meet their grandparents or they lose them early in life. I'm lucky to have a second mom like her. I can't wait to attend her 100th year birthday party! 

6. My dad's more positive outlook on life

My dad is the type of person who will worry about everything and will let you know how worried he feels that it will somehow affect you too. In short, he is a worrywart. When something bad happens, he thinks negatively rather than look at the bright side of life. I always tell him that negativity begets negativity, but he had a hard time believing that. So when someone gave me a Joel Osteen book, "Your Best Life Now", for my birthday, I thought of a brilliant idea. Since I know my dad only reads inspirational Christian books or the Bible, I purposefully left the book at home and told my dad to check it out. "Your Best Life Now" is a book about thinking positively and dreaming bigger, by the way, and I know it'll help him a lot. Now he reads it every day and he even tells me whenever I contradict an idea, "If you believe, it will happen" -- things that he would never say before. So thanks Joel Osteen! *wink wink*

7. Failures

I know you'll find it odd that I'm including "failures" on my list. It's not that I'm asking for more (haha), it's just that when I look back at the times I failed, I see in the end that, yeah, things do happen for a reason! I become a better person after every failure and work harder to improve and develop myself, which actually helps me achieve more. I know I'm not safe from failing in the future, but at least now I know not to take failures too seriously.

8. Being more comfortable living in Canada

Photo from my Instagram. In the middle of nowhere Ontario, picking apples. :)

I noticed a change in me since my return in October last year. I am more at peace with building a life in my new home. The first time I came to Canada, I always thought of coming back to the Philippines (which I finally did in 2013). When I moved back, I realized that the Philippines was not the same anymore. It will never be the same. Yes, it has changed a bit, but for the most part, I did change already. I have come to terms with the possibility that I'm partly "Canadian" already, as there are things about the Philippines that don't make sense to me anymore. 

Now that I'm back in Canada, I feel a sense of belongingness. I network more and interact with people more. I want to become a contributing member of the community. I also make long-term plans here and decided just to visit the Philippines as often as possible. There are so many opportunities present in this country and I've spoiled everything by always thinking of a life elsewhere. I still am Filipino no matter what and will keep the good values I learned from my home country (plus I still think of starting a business in Pinas and retiring there), but there's nothing wrong, I guess, with accepting change, living in the present and opening yourself to a life full of possibilities. :)

How about you? What are the things that you say thank you for?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!