Anyone who knows me knows Christmas is absolute fave global holiday. I kind of enjoy the goofy, sweet-toothed ghouli-delicious-ness of Halloween, and by then it’s on to the countdown to Christmas. Thanksgiving is a nice couple of days off work to eat, ease up off the stress, and just enjoy too. But since I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving — I’ll admit, even after all these years stateside — it’s still not a major holiday for me. Not shade, not hate to all who do. None.
And in 2025, with the way the world is acting (aka stank), I’ve decided to take the spirit of the word, at least, and roll with the word ‘thankful’ but give it some oomph, and see it as ‘grateful’.
There’s a lot of chatter around gratitude, and especially at this time of year, but honestly, who can still feel perfectly peaceful or wondrously warm in the middle of this thing we call life? (aka stank mess). But I’m not for sitting in doom and gloom. So, if I can find and hold space for the good, then it’s up to me to share it any way I can.
For me, I’m saying gratitude isn’t neat. Or big, small, glamorous, humble, or whatever, but that’s exactly what makes it real. It puts that little smile on my face or giggle in my belly… every now and then, and I’m here for it.
Here are my five things — big, small, ridiculous, or not — that I’m categorically grateful for this month (and year so far):
1. My morning cup of coffee: Surprised I didn’t say tea? Me too, well, I was a few years back but not anymore. I still love a steamy cuppa tea, ooh yes. But that comes later in the day and is more tied to a cozier feel. My cup of joe is that hard hit I need in the AM. Now is mine. Jet-black espresso. Bitter and angry. No cream, no sugar. Hard as it gets? Oh, heck no, I don’t hate myself. It’s a fancy-fru-fru delight. Complete with warmed up, frothed vanilla cream, and two dashes of cinnamon. One in the brew and a dusting on top of the foam. The way I’ve perfected it, Starbucks and Dunkin could never.
2. My daily group chats: the ones that keep me updated, conscious, and clenching my cheeks in laughter. Everything from my UK Fam, Uni Peeps, Wordle Wizards!, WTF UP!, and Y’All Ain’t Right (don’t ask… trust me…). But you know… the ones that feel like free bootleg therapy… yep, those. With random meme-offs, GIF battles, and YouTube video wars for the day’s biggest laughs. Go ahead and throw out a simple debate — suddenly you’re furiously defending your stance, and the foolishness of the day magically fades… for a little while anyway. Sometimes it’s just the amount of ridiculous you never knew you needed.
3. My chosen framily: That’s friends and family… framily. Cause the ones I’ve got — the aunties, uncles, misses and misters, to my girls — are one and the same. Sure, this is related to the above but I’m choosing to give my peeps their own lane of gratitude. #FightMe. I don’t get to physically see my UK crew often, obviously, but sadly, that also goes for many of my USA Babes, who don’t live close by. But distance be damned, I know that both sets are always there for me, and me for them. I’ll continue to pray for their health and well-being, so we can grow older doing more bat-shit-crazy stuff. Keep being fabulous, fun and foolish. #INeedItAndILoveIt.
4. Me dodging drama I didn’t sign up for: THIS! THIS! THIS! When you narrow your circle down, for whatever reason, you come to realize the drama you once entertained is no more. Now, I’m no perfect person, I love some gossip – I promise you. But the juiciest kind of gossip is the one I play no part in. Have no skin in the game and/or people I’ve no involvement with. I know, I know… call me a petty Bee. But my boundaries… they’re my November (and forever) MVPs.
5. My tiny, weird routines ‘n’ rituals: The last time my friend Mimi visited, we were chatting it up in my kitchen and our phone alarms went off at the same time. We both had some version of a ‘wind-down’ reminder at 8:30pm. Not go to bed at 8:30pm… but unless we had something going on, it’s our reminder, a nudge like ‘Hey, the day is winding down, what do I need to make sure I don’t forget to do before…’, type thing. Maybe you’re jumping in the shower, doing your skincare routine. Watching one last show, podcast or chapter of a good read. Or dumping out the day in your journal. I love my little reminder. It’s really part of my ritual that keeps me a little more grounded. And no, I don’t have to rigidly stick to it, but the only person I’d be disrespecting is me. I love the excitement of life, but there truly can be some magic in the mundane, and I’ve learned to notice it.
BONUS: Those small victories that no one sees but me: Continually growing, learning, and unlearning. Falling down, making mistakes, and then relearning. Sharing. While not everything I write will make it to social media (privacy is a must), I remind myself that progress doesn’t require applause. Me acknowledging me, is more than enough.
How about you?
I know for me, come 5pm-ish on Thanksgiving, once all the noise has died down, those familiar, huge, and puffing bruised boxed, are screaming to be unraveled. Yep, my Christmas décor goes up—and no, it’s not too early, because I said so!
Let those twinkling lights… well, twinkle, sparkle, and shine.
And let the Thanksgiving ‘gratitude’ continue.
So, this Thanksgiving, I’m still thankful, but really grateful for the ridiculous and the unexpected. Gratitude lives in the pauses and the spaces between chaos. Because if gratitude can still survive this world, it can survive anything. It literally is the sparkle.
