A Few of My Favorite Things

So, yesterday was my birthday, and I thought it would be fun to do a “few of my favorite things” post. I have a lot of favorite things, but the more I thought about it the less I wanted to talk about material possessions. I thought about my true favorite things and my favorite parts of yesterday, this past year, and my life as a whole. Realizing I’ve been alive for a quarter of a century is a little surreal and gave me time to contemplate what I’ve found to be important. Warning: this will get a little sappy. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. Quality time with my friends and family.

Whether it is an evening hanging out with my husband or watching Bachelor in Paradise with my friends, a weekend with my parents or extended family, my wedding and seeing a lot of Adam and I’s friends and family in one place, the skype chats with my close friends from graduate school, or a phone call from my high school friends, they all mean so much to me. Quality time is my number one love language and I’ve found that I really cherish the company of others. I hope I can get better at reaching out on my own to keep better communication with all of my family and friends, but I'm grateful for the talks that I have and have had.

2. Thoughtfulness.

Yesterday my sweet friends decorated my office, a coworker bought me my first maple bacon donut, and I had so many kind and thoughtful messages from texts and social media that made me realize how lucky I am to have so many great people in my life. No one had to message me or get me anything, but they all thought about me enough to reach out and it meant a lot.

3. My sweet pets.

Almost 2 years ago we took in sweet Leo, and now 2 months have passed since Ace came into our lives. I am so grateful for those fur babies and the love they bring to our household. 

4. My faith.

Something that constantly helps me push through good and bad days is my faith. My faith that rough times will pass. My faith that I am growing and learning every day and that I am not who I used to be and that is ok. My faith in God and his plan. My faith that giving back to our community and to others is a worthy investment of time. My faith in that you reap what you sow, and that the work we put in today will reflect in what happens in the future (for most things).

5. Strength.

The past 3 years have shown me a lot about myself. Some of it my own, but I’ve always known I could be a strong person. Mostly it is the strength in others. Learning to rely on my peers, my team members, my supervisees, my supervisors, my friends, and my family’s strength. I heard in a presentation recently that a bad team member or supervisor can sometimes have the “superhero” complex that they have to do everything on their own for it to be done right, and that it is faster to get it done than to teach others. It is a toxic mindset that does not allow growth for others, but also puts a lot of pressure on an individual. It is a mindset I used to live in. I’ve found that I work with and have worked with incredibly talented and capable people who are valuable and can contribute if they are given the autonomy to. It is one of my favorite things. I’ve learned to see the strengths in others and to trust them and rely on them, and hope that they also know they can rely on me.