Giving thanks to the beautiful souls in my life

Well Thanksgiving is all finished and I decided I wanted this blog to be a little different than the rest.

As I reflect on Thanksgiving 2016, I think about the many holidays I shared with my family in my grandparents big home in Prince Albert. I loved this house. We all loved this house...I don't know who misses it more out of all the family members but I am sure we all miss it tremendously. Holidays for my family, the Tonita's, were centered around laughter, card games, and of course food. We would get together and have a large feast including a tasty bird and all you can eat stuffing and then we would sit around and some of us would read, others would visit, and the majority of us would play cards.

I do not know what the adults use to talk about when we were growing up but as cousins we spent the majority of our time playing with one another. Time went on, the cousins grew up, families moved away and some even started their own families. Now when we get together, that dynamic has changed. We are all adults now but we all have differing life experiences and different views of the world. No more are the days when we would hide under the stairs in that house and steal Lena's olives; no more are the times when we would huddle around the piano and listen to grandma elegantly play the piano; the times of us kids wanting to grow up and be like the grown ups is over.

I am thankful for each and every one of my family members and I am so happy they are all in good health. I am thankful for the memories that were created in that home in Prince Albert and for the beautiful adults my cousins have grown into. I am proud of the mark they are all trying to leave on the world. I am honoured to have been able to grow up with the influences of my aunts and uncles, my mom and dad, my beautiful bonus mom, my wonderful cousins, and of course kindhearted grandparents.

This Thanksgiving I created new memories and new traditions with people who I consider family. I have been apart of this new family for a few years now and even though they are not my blood relatives they mean just as much to me as my biological family. They support me, they listen to me cry when I am hurt, they laugh at my jokes, they tell me when I am being inappropriate, and they love me for who I am, not because they have to. They are the people I look up to, the people who inspire me to be better than I currently am, and they give me hope for the world I am living in. I am truly thankful for everyone I have met in the last 28 years of my life because they have enabled me to grow and evolve into who I am today.

The person I am today will likely continue to grow and my opinions are sure to change as I learn more about who I am and the things I want to see in the world. Be thankful to have the ability to do the things that make you happy. Remember to stand up for those around you who cannot stand up for themselves. Encourage one another to grow and heal and to become more kind citizens of the world. Last but not least, please remember we are all connected, we are all family, so love one another like you love your own family.