It's Thanksgiving Day! I cannot believe it's almost the end of another year...and this one, well, it really flew by (do we say this every year?). I love the merriment, the fall leaves, the holiday lights, and joy that this time of year can bring for some of us. And with that, the time for reflection. I'll have more reflections coming next month, but appropriately today, and really everyday, I want to spend some time writing down some of what I'm deeply grateful for.
I am grateful for my health. It wasn't fun the few times that I, like most new parents, start catching all the colds and Covid from my little guy. It always throws your days and schedule off, especially for me when I rely on all my extra time to create and print things. I'm fortunate though that none of that lasted more than a few days and symptoms are usually fairly mild. Working in healthcare, I do see how very, very sick a person can get, how debilitating it can be to the point that your life changes completely - you can't move, can't work and you need to be totally dependent on someone else to care for you. I am really, really grateful for the health that I have - that I can stay up a few more minutes to work on a new design, that I can walk over and set up my letterpress machine to print, that I can communicate all that I am doing with you. It's a reminder to myself that as I get older, it is equally important to take breaks (still, so bad at this), give myself grace, pat myself on the back for what I have accomplished, and take care of myself, so that I can continue to live life longer.
I am grateful for my creative maker community, both online and in person. Online - to be honest, I don't prefer to live every minute of my day in social media for all the reasons you may already know, but I will say one of the best parts is that it does connect me to people far and wide, to ones who understand the small business side of things, to ones who understand my culture and background. I really do cherish every comment and message exchanged and do hope I can meet some of you in real life. And in real life, I am beyond grateful for the small businesses in the Bay Area, the creative entrepreneurs that I've met, who have been providing me with so much support. I know I would not have pushed to make as many items as I did this year without the constant encouragement and advice from all of you.
I am grateful for my family, but especially for my son, Emmett, and husband, Stephen. It's true what they say of having little babies/toddlers around - they show you how beautiful their little world is. We get SO excited over every new movement he makes (nowadays, he's climbing everywhere), every new word he says, every little tune he sings. It reminds of how much we take our complicated adult lives for granted. I am grateful that Emmett helps me keep things in perspective. As for Stephen, there are no words to really express how grateful I am for all his support of me designing and starting this little business. He is, afterall, the guy who came over to my dorm many, many moons ago to give me my first copy of Illustrator and Photoshop, and started me on this creative journey. These days, not only does he watch over our little guy if I have to finish printing or recently, participate in a craft fair, but he also helps me so much with the photography of my products and filming my videos/reels - that last part, let me tell you, he can spend a few days just to edit a video for me despite me saying to keep it simple. His perfectionist self when it comes to creating anything is way above mine. I am SO, so grateful.
Lastly, I am grateful for you - for believing in what I make, for the comments, the likes, for being here. Thank you for that.