Day 49: Things You Like About Winter

Two of my favorite things about winter - Christmas and skiing - have been written about multiple times on the blog. But an additional thing I'm so grateful for about winter is the feeling of coziness. I love putting on warm socks and sweaters, of lighting candles to brighten up the early evenings, of snuggling up under a warm blanket and settling in to read a book or watch a snow. I love sitting by a crackling fire. I especially love when it's a snowy day - you might go outside for awhile, either for fun or for shoveling - and then that feeling of coming back into the warmth of the house.

This concludes my thankfulness series for 2025. Thanks for following along! It's always a pleasure for me to go through this exercise and I'm grateful to those of you who humor me putting this all up on a blog :).

Day 48: Your Job

I'm grateful that my job involves regular court hearings. Court is fun because it's unpredictable and you have to be sharp and it's the work equivalent of competition for athletes. It's a good day if important decisions go in favor of your client. (Though this is very much determined by the facts more than the lawyers' advocacy.) It's disappointing when things don't go your client's way. Through both experiences, you learn how to be a better advocate. 

Day 47: Opportunities You've Been Given

I am grateful for the gift, through the homeschool lifestyle, of extra time with my kids. I'm grateful for all the extra meals, extra shopping trips, and extra adventures that we've been able to do together during these homeschool years. I'm grateful especially for slow mornings together. As the years roll by and I'm increasingly aware that kids dont keep, Im grateful for all the extra moments afforded ny these years of kids schooling at home.

Day 46: Technology

 

I am grateful that we are heading towards the technology of self driving cars. I'm grateful for what this will mean for the population of people who can't drive and who live in towns like Reno, Nevada and Lincoln, Nebraska - towns that are expansive but don't have great public transportation. I'm grateful for how this can potentially help the elderly and disabled be more independent and able to do things they want and need to do. I'm grateful that, as this technology gets better, it could potentially make things like the transportation of goods and getting around in inclement weather much safer. I'm grateful that on long road trips, I might soon have the ability to read my book for awhile even if I am the driver. In this time of rapid technological advancement, where so much is unknown and some of it feels kind of scary, I'm grateful for how much potential and hope is also there for improving people's lives.

(This picture is not a self driving car, just seemed like a good opportunity to throw in a picture of a Tesla truck.)

Day 45: What You Do For Fun

I am grateful for the karaoke machine that we have in the corner of our dining room. Ivy got it as a Christmas gift last year, and she enjoys it, but honestly I might enjoy it more.

Most of the things I do for fun should really have finger quotes around the word - I like to run and read in my free time, and while they both provide huge benefit, they are not really fun in the traditional sense of the word.

But i also *love* singing karaoke with the kids, and that is 100% fun in the traditional sense of the word. Singing is free and passionate and all-consuming. The variety of songs you can do, heck the variety of songs available even in the Taylor Swift catalogue alone, can span the range of human emotions. 

Home karaoke is my favorite fun activity right now and I'm super grateful for it. 

Day 44: Your Favorite Holiday

My favorite holiday is Christmas, which has been well documented on this blog, but today I want to give a shout-out to all the summer holidays that give us several 4-day work weeks through the summer. I want to note, these holidays of course all have a much deeper meaning than the way I'm writing about them here and I don't intend any disrespect towards the real things they celebrate. But as someone who is relatively recently back in the Monday to Friday work force, today I want to show some gratitude for what these breaks give to workers.

Memorial Day kicks things off, Juneteenth and 4th of July offer extra holidays in the middle of summer, and Labor Day provides one last long weekend before we head into the hustle bustle of fall. For workers, having three days off instead of two means you have more opportunity to get out of town, get to the lake, throw a barbeque, or do other fun summer events without having to figure out how to squeeze this around the demands of the work schedule and the home chores that are waiting on the weekend. It gives more time to spend with family, to enjoy a little bit of the kick back and relax that you don't understand how good you have it as a kid on school break, and to get to your body of water of choice and cool off.

Here's to you, summer holidays!

Day 43: A Mentor / Teacher

I am grateful for the mentors I had in my first job as a lawyer. There were two women who were in senior positions in the office who showed me what it looked like to practice law at a high level, be kind and thoughtful towards others in the office, and maintain a good work life balance (both of them had very young kids at the time). I saw that it was possible to have a meaningful career and also be an involved parent. They showed me how to put together the best possible complaints, motions, and legislative advocacy; how to give an effective presentation and nail a cross examination; but also that it's important to be a human being and get to know others in the office, participate in things like potluck soup day, and incorporate fun into the mix of work. I am grateful for a really healthy, balanced office environment in my first professional work experience, and I'm especially grateful for these two mentors who I was able to learn from and continue to admire.