Autumnal Gratitude in All Shapes and Sizes

[Crenna]

"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others." - Cicero

Is it cliche to have a thankfulness thread in November? Yes. Do I love cliches? Also yes.

I believe all of us have something to be grateful for and I wanted a space where we could reflect on that. Every week, I will post a prompt inviting you to ponder on what you are thankful for. Can be a few words. Can be a story. Can even be a piece of art that goes with the prompt. Just a way for all of us to share a little bit of gratitude with each other as the year draws to a close.

First Prompt: Describe a relationship (friend, family, pet) that changed you, shaped you or just helped get through life. Please do not dox yourself and be mindful of names and such.

“The connections we make in the course of a life--maybe that's what heaven is.” - Fred Rogers

 

[Crenna]

This is the story about a how a dog literally changed my life:

During the height of Covid, my living situation had started to get a bit strained. As you can imagine, people stuck in the same house together for months without social activity led to some disagreements. I was also starting to feel restless in the city that I lived in. I had enjoyed living there but now it was starting to feel a bit stifling. At this time, I was living in one state and my mom was living in another.

One day, I was scrolling facebook (yes I used it a bit more back in the day) and come across someone putting a puppy for adoption due to their schedules. He looked a lot like one of our late family dogs so I sent it to my mom where the dog was located. When I woke up the next morning, I had a text from her saying that she had adopted the dog out of the blue. We both were surprised because my mom did not want another dog and definitely not a puppy. But she had told me that she just felt like she needed to adopt him.

A few months later, I went home to meet the dog and help my mom out with some moving items. Unfortunately, the puppy had been mistreated and was not really good around strangers. I was told that he would probably bark at me and just be calm. Well, I headed to him and immediately, his tail started wagging and he started licking me. By the 48 hour mark, I knew that I could not leave him. My mom was in the middle of a move and was actually grateful that I wanted to take him. He was a handful but she also did not want to rehome him again. So, I ended up taking him as my first ever dog that was truly mine.

Fast forward to the present: I have moved across country, have settled into a better job, and have worked very hard on my mental health journey. The dog I had adopted forced me to get healthy and care about another living being. And now, I can't image my life without him. We may have saved his life but he definitely saved mine.