2020 has certainly been an interesting year, to say the least. But with Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I think it’s important to reflect and give attention to all the things that we were grateful for this year, specifically. So yes, while I’m thankful for all the same things I was last year, I’ve subbed out a few and am putting special emphasis on what made this year different for me and the things I’ll always be grateful for.

+ Baby Avery: First and foremost, I am over the moon grateful for our growing baby girl. Pregnancy hasn’t been the easiest journey, but knowing that I have a healthy baby growing inside of me makes it all worth it. Now, being pregnant during a pandemic certainly hasn’t been easy either, but I will say that having the extra time to be home has certainly been a big pro for me. I didn’t have to spend any time out at events pretending not to be miserable or slowly dying, and that would not have happened if the world wasn’t under a stay at home order (that’s my silver lining). I was allowed to be home and anti-social without anyone being the wiser, especially those first 3 months.

+ My Husband: I’ll always be grateful and thankful for my loving husband, but this year has really been eye opening and made me realize just how much I love and adore him, not to mention how patient of a human being he is. We celebrated our first year of marriage earlier this month and for the past 8 months of our marriage, he’s been the sole provider- mentally, physically, emotionally. The whole thing. I give all my energy to getting through my work days and by the time I get home, I’m essentially a zombie. Joey has cooked, cleaned, done literally everything to keep me and baby girl healthy throughout my pregnancy. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that he also regularly runs baths for me when I get off work to help me unwind and relax. The man is a God send and I don’t know what I’d do without him.

+ Health: I think we’ve all learned a little bit about taking care of ourselves and each other during this pandemic. I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family and friends. I think we’ve had a little bit of a wake-up call, especially with how COVID has affected particularly those with underlying conditions. It’s certainly put my health into perspective for me and made me think about how important it is to exercise, hydrate, and eat well throughout the entirety of our lives to make sure we don’t have critical conditions as we age.

+ Technology: I mean, wow- how lucky are we to live in a time where Zoom and FaceTime exist??!?! It’s certainly made isolating during this time a lot more bearable knowing we can at least see the faces of our loved ones without being with them. We’ve had a lot of virtual game nights where we’ll play Yahtzee with our parents or have virtual dinners together. That’s been nice to be able to do during this time. We’re actually having a virtual Thanksgiving dinner and game night tomorrow night too!

+ A roof over my head: So many people are struggling to get by right now with everything going on. Everyday I wake up grateful that I have a roof over my head and a place to come home too. I know this is something that so many routinely take for granted.

+ Friends: Shoutout to the friends that check in and do what they can to be present from afar. I know Joey and I have tried our best to continually check in with friends and make sure everyone is doing alright. It’s hard when you don’t get to physically be with people and I’ve realized that as we grow older, friendships tend to change and revolve around social events. It’s been interesting to see which relationships remain the same when all social obligations are wiped from the calendar- and which ones tend to fall by the way side. With my pregnancy as well, it’s been very nice to hear from people who check in and ask how I’m doing, how baby’s doing, if I need anything- I’ve realized I’ve got the best group of supportive friends around me and I honestly get quite emotional thinking about it.

Well, what are you especially grateful for this year? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Similar posts from the Archives:

+ 10 Things I’m Thankful for this Year (2019)

+ Throwing a Virtual Birthday Party (or event)

+ Favorite Games for Game Night

+ 10 Things I’m Thankful for this Year (2018)