January Grateful

Well boys and girls, it would appear that we are now in the month of February ... and that I'm talking like a teacher. This means two things. First, I've completed the first month of documenting my daily gratitude. Second, after months of searching, I have finally found employment as a substitute teacher. I must say, as I reflect on all these photographs and my first week back in the classroom, I definitely have a lot to be grateful for.

This may sound dramatic, but I honestly feel that after only one month this grateful project is changing my life for the better. As you may remember from this post, I was feeling very discouraged toward the end of last year. It seemed like every bit of news I received presented me with an obstacle and I wasn't sure how I was going to fix my situation. As I entered January, however, it was clear that I needed to break out of the negative cycle I was falling into.

Now here I am, one month later, actively searching the world for things I am grateful for on a daily basis. Sometimes it's easy; I wake up and immediately find myself filled with gratitude. Some days it's a bit more difficult and I have to search a little harder. But everyday there is something. There is always something to give thanks for, and taking the time to do it makes all the difference. Seriously. It makes a huge difference.

As soon as I fell into the groove of expressing my gratitude, and before I even knew what was happening, I felt like the universe was throwing great things at me faster than I could react. I found the motivation and inspiration to keep this blog more up-to-date, I started some freelance editing projects and found a new student to tutor. Most exciting, I found a school that was willing and able to hire me based on my Minnesota teaching credentials and master's degree, and despite the fact that my degree is not yet validated by the Dutch Office of Education. In fact, my life has been so full lately that I've even fallen asleep a few nights before posting my grateful photo to the blog. But don't you worry, I won't be making a habit of it, and you can trust that I've taken a photo every day, regardless of the date it was posted.

So with that, I close the first month of grateful and open the second. I can't wait to see what happens next.