What I’m thankful for is not what you’d think

As thanksgiving approaches, I read and hear what people are thankful for.  In the past, I’ve always been thankful for the same things: my family, my health, my dog…  This year, it’s a little different.

 

It’s no secret that life has not been easy for me.  My past is an open book of which many of you have read and some of you (my parents, my sisters) know the gory details that even I wish I didn’t know.  I’ve been dealt a tough hand that I didn’t deserve.  I’ve been given debt I didn’t earn, abuse I didn’t ask for, pain I didn’t cause.  I’ve been called names, humiliated in front of strangers and ridiculed by loved ones.  My path has been filled with heartache, disappointment and letdowns.  I’ve stood in line for food stamps, rolled pennies for gas and slept in a women’s abuse shelter.  I’m only 36 but it seems I’ve lived a life of someone twice as old.

 

2012 has been a year of change.  I began a relationship with Miles, expanded my business, traveled to new places and cut my hair off.  People always tell me that I live the ideal “dream” life.  I have a wonderful companion who adores me; I live in a beautiful brand new home, got to spend 2 weeks in Maui and I’m an athlete with ability in any sport I choose.  I agree—I have the dream life.  And I certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

 

But I’m thankful for something different this year, something that’s not what you think.  This year, I know what really matters.  My “perfect” life could all come crumbling down around me at any moment (as it has in the past) and I would still be fine.  I could lose everything—the house, bikes, cars, trips, clothes, materialist things and it would be sad—yes—but it wouldn’t destroy me.  Because I know what matters: RELATIONSHIPS. 

 

What matters is to make sure every day I tell Miles how much I love and appreciate him. 

 

What matters is to make sure my nieces know that Auntie Cristy is here if they need to talk. 

 

What matters is laughing at my sister’s voicemails and telling my parents I love them. 

 

I’ve also learn what really matters is how I treat others.  If I’m walking down the road homeless and broke, I can still smile and be kind.  That never changes regardless of my socioeconomic status.  My actions towards others should reflect how I wish to be treated.  What matters are small gestures of holding a door or smiling to a stranger.  Do you think that old lady that I helped carry her groceries cares that I’m wearing Gucci boots?  Nope.  People remember how you make them feel.

 

We are all thankful for our materialistic possessions, health pets, etc…  But if you were to lose any of those things, would you honestly still be thankful?  I would hate for life to throw me another curve ball and test my theory once again.  But if it does, I’ll be ready to roll with the punches.  Because in the end, I know what really matters: my relationships and the impact I have on others. 

 

And while saying grace this Thanksgiving, I’ll quietly thank God for my Gucci boots, too.    

Hawaii November 12th

Sunset

Maui: day 12–Nov 12th

Well, it is weird to say, but this is our final night here in Maui. Our flight leaves tomorrow (tues) afternoon.

Yesterday (Sunday) began with a bike ride followed by a whole day of beach lounging. Today was very similar. We did a fun bike ride, returned the bikes to the bike rental store, and laid on the sand all friggin day long. It was awesome. Tonight, the condo management put on a pizza and cake party for Veterans Day. That was fun visiting with the other guests and eating until we were ready to puke.

We sadly pack our suitcases and gather our belongings. Miles said, “I do miss our big house in Boise,” and I agree that it will be nice to be back in our own house, in our own bed. Spending 2 weeks in a cramped condo makes us appreciate our house in Harris Ranch. I’m ready to get back to my business, back to my clients and back to our lives. Winter is upon us and we have season ski passes! But we take with us wonderful memories from Hawaii. I already have a list of things I wanna do next time we come, which…who knows…could be sooner than we think!

Maui: day 10

Yesterday (Friday) morning started with a bike ride. Only the bike ride was cut short at 30 miles due to my tire spoke breaking. As many of you know, when you break a spoke, the tire becomes unstable and dangerous. We had to limp it back to the bike shop for repair. We decided to drive up to the top of the famous Haleakala volcano (an active volcano which last erupted in 1790). In January of this year, Miles rode the 33 miles and 10,000 feet to the top on his bike. But we did it in the car yesterday. It’s a windy road with your ears popping the whole way. If its 85 degrees at the beach, it’s 50 degrees at the top of Haleakala. We stopped at the Kula Lodge for a late lunch. That was nice. Upon our return, we hit the beach for the normal “laying around” in the sand and sun. Around 5pm, we drove into Lahaina for a city wide art show. There was live music and free drinks so we strolled the shops and looked at expensive art. We had a fabulous time.

This morning, Miles went on a bike ride while I stayed back and skyped with my mom for over an hour. So much fun. Later in the morning, we had to do a little more shopping and topped the afternoon off with floating on an air mattress thingy about 75 yards off the shore. The waves were calm and wind was light so it was very relaxing. But I’ve gotta tell you: the movie “Jaws” really didn’t do us any favors because that thought is always in my mind about a shark coming to get me. Even dangling my fingers and toes over the edge scared me too much to do. Damn you Steven Spielberg!

The days spent in Maui are coming to an end and we are sad to leave Tuesday afternoon. But until then, we have reservations to Mamas Fish House and many more adventures to experience.

Maui: day 8

I’m beginning to feel a panic as the days go by anticipating the day we leave. Even though we still have 5 days left, I feel like I will wake up tomorrow and it will be time to leave!!

Today was another low-key day (they’re all low-key compared to my life in Boise). We did a longer walk on the beach this morning. 4 miles. So neat to walk on the sand and feel the warm waves splash up. It’s like being in a movie. We came back, ate breakfast and hit a volcano lava beach for some snorkeling. We saw a ton of beautiful fish, many of which I recognized from “Finding Nemo.” When we got back to the condo, we laid out on the condo’s private beach for the rest of the day. Miles made Ohno for dinner.

I think tomorrow we’ll hit the road for a bike ride, then some more snorkleing. In the evening I think we might go back to Lahaina for a city wide art show. We are looking for some artwork to go on a certain wall in our new home. So we will see!

Miles goes crazy!!

Miles goes crazy!!

Maui: day 7

Miles and Cristy in Lahaina for lunch

Maui: day 7

Wednesday November 7th

I skipped a day of blogging due to the election. Yesterday (Tuesday) we stayed near the condo to keep an ear on the TV. Needless to say, as most of you know, I was hoping for the country to go in a different direction so it was a sad night for us. But…we are still in Maui for another week so we changed our attitudes and got back to having a fantastic time.

We hit the road early on our bikes for an easy ride of 30 miles. I burned 1100 calories so I’m fine with that. The weather was nice and warm and we rode through some resort neighborhoods. Anytime you see the word “estates” in the title of the subdivision, you know it’s gonna be nice (and expensive). I really like the roads here–they’re smooth and wide. They’re also well-marked and I feel safe riding here.

We came back, jumped in the ocean to cool off and decided to save up our hunger for lunch in Lahaina. It’s a 30 minute ride there so we were pretty hungry when we arrived. Lahaina is a CUTE town with lots of shops and fun things to look at. We spent several hours there. Miles decided to get a temporary tattoo which was hilarious if any of you know Mr. Conservative Miles. I was proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and trying something new. I can guarantee he would not have had the support in his past relationship to try something like this. Even as harmless as this was, it would’ve been met with judgmental looks and comments.

For the rest of the evening we enjoyed about 2 hours of sun and watched the sunset before heading in for a light dinner. Tomorrow? We’ll be starting the morning off with a hard bootcamp style workout on the beach (I’m writing the workout now) and some more snorkeling. Forecast? Perfect.

Watching sunset

Maui: day 5

Monday November 5th

Fantastic day. Relaxing, lots of sun soaking. We did our normal walk on the beach followed by a trip to the swimsuit store to buy a new swimsuit for me that wouldn’t fall off when you looked at it the wrong way. I found a great one in purple (yeah, not RED! Can you believe it???) It fits great and is soooo comfortable.

We came back, had some lunch, and hit the ocean for some snorkeling. We had a absolute BALL snorkeling through the coral reef. We saw big sea turtles and beautiful fish. It was awesome!!!

After returning to the condo we laid out in the gorgeous breeze and soaked in the afternoon rays. The evening was topped off with some Mahi-Mahi and wine.

Bike ride tomorrow and Election Day. Everyone get out and vote!!!