Monthly Gratitude: March 2018 Edition

It's time once again for my monthly gratitude post.  I've only been posting these for a short time, but I've found that I really enjoy writing them.  Like many people, I sometimes find myself getting stuck on all the negatives, so it's nice to take some time each month to reflect on some of the good things in my life.

- The best part of my job:

I'm not one of those people who absolutely loves going to work every day.  (Though, really, how many people actually do look forward to working each day?)  Thankfully, I'm not one of those people who dreads going to work every day either.  I'm mostly in the "it's fine and I like earning money, but I could probably name at least twenty things I'd rather be doing" camp.  (My guess is that the majority of people fall under this category.)  I will say, though, that work is never terrible (even during really stressful times!) because I work with really awesome people.  It's definitely true that your coworkers can really affect your job satisfaction, and I feel so grateful to work alongside some really kind, funny, intelligent, and interesting people.

- Something others may take for granted that brings me joy:

I love silence.  As much as I love listening to music and watching TV, sometimes I just want to sit in a quiet room and read or write.  I need to have at least some "me time" every day (even if it's just ten or fifteen minutes) in order to destress and relax, and I generally prefer to do this in silence.  It keeps me sane, and for that, I am grateful.

- Something that makes my life much easier:

As much as I sometimes wish I didn't need it, my car is definitely something I'd be lost without.  Omaha is very much a driving city (the public transportation system isn't great) -- if I didn't have a car, my life would be much more difficult.  It's something I think I take for granted a lot of the time, so I wanted to take a moment this month to think about how grateful I actually am to own a car.

- A feeling:

It may be a little odd to express gratitude for this, but I love a good adrenaline rush.  This is the reason I love riding the scariest rides at amusement parks, watching scary movies, and reading scary books (and why I'd like to eventually do things like skydiving and zip-lining) ... I enjoy that feeling so much.  That mixture of fear and excitement actually brings me joy -- I never feel more alive than I do in those moments.  

- The best thing about March:

I really struggled with what to say here.  I would love to share the actual best thing about this last month, but I'm not ready to do so just yet.  (I'm sorry for being vague, but this is one of those personal things that I'm not comfortable sharing right now.  I should be able to talk about it eventually, just not yet.)  Since I can't share what I'm actually most grateful for, I'll go with something a little more general: I've enjoyed that the month of March has been pretty relaxing.  I haven't been stretched thin with commitments or overly stressed about anything.  I'd call that a win.

As usual, I'll end this monthly gratitude post with a quote.  This month's quote comes from the song "Don't Carry It All" by The Decemberists.  I thought it was at least somewhat fitting for the change from winter to spring (though I know it hasn't really felt like spring for a lot of people).