30 Days of Thankful: Day 30--Self

Dear Jaimee,

Thank you for undertaking the challenge to spend the month of November being thankful. Thank you for remembering and writing about all the reasons you love the people in your life. It has been cathartic to focus on all the blessings you have been given.

Thank you, self, for being a diligent student throughout your life. Thank you for developing a love of learning early on and continuing to follow that passion everyday. Thank you for being open to new experiences and people. Thank you for not letting the negative overtake your life and ruin your chance at happiness. Thank you for accepting change. You grow because you let life happen.

I am thankful that I have learned to recognize when I need help. I am thankful my pride has not kept me from seeking assistance when my plate becomes too full. I am thankful that I love myself enough to move through the dark days with an eye on the hope of a better tomorrow. I am thankful I have learned to forgive myself for my self torture and torment of the past.

I am thankful that I waited for my one true love to come back around. I am thankful for the life we make each day and for the blessing we have in our girl. I am thankful I learned to be a good mother pretty quickly so she always has a built-in biggest fan.

I love you, Jaimee...always will.

You

30 Days of Thankful: Day 29--Listography of Thanks

Top 10 Things For Which I am Thankful:

10. My Family and Friends

  9. My Puppies, Hope and Faith

  8. My Employer and Career

  7. My Education

  6. The house we call home 

  5. The trials I have overcome

  4. The people who inspire me

  3. Coffee on cold mornings

  2. My ability to be silly and to play

  1. You

30 Days of Thankful: Day 28--That Dinner Everyone Always Talks About

This thank you is a little lame but at least I am still trying. If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Here's my guest list:

Ellen

Matthew (yes my husband knows)

Mrs. Obama

The Queen

30 Days of Thankful: Day 27--My Blog Hero

Dear Elizabeth,

For the month of November, I challenged myself to write 30 thank you notes to those in my life whom matter and mean so much to me. You are on that list! It may seem strange (or slightly stalker-ish) that a stranger would call you her friend and blog hero, and it is probably oogie (and slightly scary) for that stranger to send you a letter of thanks. That's just me, your best scary, oogie, stalker/stranger friend. Thank you for not putting out a restraining order.

Thank you Liz for your blog, Flourish in Progress. Thank you for making me laugh and cry. Thank you for always writing a response to my crazy little comments on your blog. Thank you also for the very cool magnet you sent me for liking your page. It's the first blog SWAG I have ever won! Thank you mostly, Liz, for supporting my blog as well. I truly feel like a rock star has visited my home when you leave comments on my posts.

I began my blog because of the tragic loss of my sister this past March. Most of my followers are our friends and family. It was the only way I could work my way through this anguish. As I was looking for ideas for how and what to write about each day, I found the Happiness Project, which led me to your lovely blog. Girl, you keep me laughing with your Monday dares, and you remind me to laugh at even the most crazy things people in this world put us through. Your openness about your past reminds me that my happiness in life is not determined by the hardships of the past but of the joys we make of them. Thank you for your heart and your openness, Friend.

As for groups of friends, we are a troop of four peeps that became friends at work more than a decade ago. Sarah and I drug our sisters into the group and a few others. We truly are that crazy group that looks like that have a lot of inside jokes and tons of memories. Some days those are the only things we have to keep us from crawling under the bed and hiding there until this pain subsides. I want you to know you would always be welcome to join our little bit of crazy if you ever moved back to Texas.

Love ya, girly!
Jaimee

30 Days of Thankful: Day 26--One of My Heroes

Dear Ellen,

For November, I challenged myself to write 30 heart-felt "thank you" notes, one for each day. I have honored everyone I love dearly, and today I chose you to thank. It's a little weird to you, I guess, that you are on my list of dearly loved. To me it's as natural as can be because I spend each afternoon watching your show and dancing, laughing or crying as if I am spending an hour with a friend.

Ellen, in 2009 I relied on your show to make me laugh during a dark time of struggling with anxiety and depression that threatened to end me. Your show gave my husband and daughter a way to spend time with me and bonded us as a family even more, making me see all the blessings I have. In 2010, I took to heart your anti-bullying campaign and used your dialog and mantra, "Be kind to one another," as my main focus in parenting our then middle-school-aged child.

This year, I have clung to your humor to pull me through another dark time. My 38-year-old sister Gayla was killed in March when her car was struck from behind by a tractor trailer. My best friend and soul mate since birth was just ripped away from me, and it destroyed me, my family and the friends that Gayla and I shared. Then in August of this year, Gayla's and my best girl friend, Sarah, lost her 31-year-old sister, Becky, to a vehicle vs. pedestrian incident. Sarah, her other sister Annie, and I pulled together to get through another horrible tragedy, sometimes calling ourselves the sister club.

Each day we watch you to laugh and dance as part of surviving our losses. Also, I love that my now high-school-aged daughter loves to watch your show with me during a time in her life that hanging with the mama isn't all that cool. I thank you for being such a positive influence for us all. Sometimes we call each other just to say, "Did you see Ellen today?" Thank you for being our friend, Ellen. Thank you for being a friend we just haven't met yet (we hope to someday!). Thank you for reminding us to laugh and dance. Thank you for reminding us to be kind to one another. Thank you for being the perfect example of positive living. Thank you for touching our lives and our hearts. Thank you for being you.

My sincerest love,
Jaimee Hunter

30 Days of Thankful: Day 25--Volunteering

A little change up from the thank you letters I have been writing this month. Today, I want to say how thankful I am that my sister Gayla was a volunteer in her life. She had spent time with Habitat for Humanity and the American Heart Association. To honor her life, I made a decision to also volunteer my time and energy to a worthy cause. I am thankful for my older sister's example and pray I am able to change the world just like she did. My chosen charity is City House in Plano, a shelter for children and teens. I am set to begin as a tutor and cannot wait to see all the adventures this new area of my life will provide. I encourage everyone to volunteer. Find something you are passionate about and make a difference.

30 Days of Thankful: Day 24--Happy Thanksgiving

My dearest followers and fans,

On this day of Thanksgiving, I want you to know that I am so very thankful to be blessed with each of you. Since embarking on this adventure in self-expression in March, I have been continually amazed that you follow my little bit of crazy each day. Thank you for the words of encouragement and support to continue writing. I send up a prayer of thanks for you and yours and pray you all have a very blessed Holiday Season.

Much love,
Jaimee

30 Days of Thankful: Day 23--Tuggle's

Dear Tuggle Family,

We are so thankful for your little family. It is such a relief to us that our darling girl has such a happy, loving family as friends. Thank you for always making us a part of your adventures.

To Sky-bear in particular, thank you for being a part of our family. Your willingness to travel with us to adventures unknown is a treasure. Your sense of humor and "good morning, sunshine" attitude are such a blessing. I love that I have a perky morning buddy to help me raise the troops. Thank you also for being open to freezing each time little Miss wants to go skating. Thank you mostly for always putting her first and being such a good and true friend. It's a comfort to know that Darbster will have a forever friend in you.

We love y'all so very much and thank God for putting our families together.

Love always,
Jaimee

30 Days of Thankful: Day 22--Hockey Family

Dear Eddie, Jo and Susan,

Thank you so much for adopting our little family into your friendship so easily and so happily. Thank you for helping me teach our darling daughter that making new friends is one of the greatest joys in life and can be the most rewarding thing you do in a day. Darby and I are especially grateful for the visits while Chad is out of town because it helps us not stagnate and miss him too terribly. You ease our hearts in many ways.

Eddie, thank you for always being so polite and helpful. Darby says you are one of the most patient and best "coaches" she has had. It makes me giddy with pride that you have taken an interest in making her a better hockey player. She is lucky to have a teammate and friend like you.

Jo, thank you for being the team's manager and photographer. We all three enjoy looking at the photos from each game and are always so impressed with your eye for the action. I know I will always be grateful for having this time in Darby's life well documented. Thank you also for being the easiest person to make friends with. In a very short time, we went from being a family nervous about starting a new adventure and knowing no one to feeling like part of a strong group of good people. That is mostly your doing.

Susan, thank you for being my visiting buddy and for letting me interrupt your reading time when the kiddos are hanging out. Thank you also for encouraging me and reminding me that I will survive being a parent. I am sure you said it in passing but it stuck to me like glue.

Thank you both for raising such a wonderfully polite and energetic young man. Eddie has the best kind of heart and that is in no small part because of your love. I just love meeting people who have changed the world for the better and they don't even know it yet.

Your Friend,

Jaimee

30 Days of Thankful: Day 21--Teachers

To Darling Daughter's Teachers, both present and past,

Thank you for teaching my girl about math, English, art, science, social studies, physical education and all the other things she will need to know in life. I appreciate your dedication to educating her mind as well as her heart. Thank you for the many complements like, "Darby is so sweet and quiet; she is so well-behaved." Thank you for not figuring out that part of that may be what her daddy calls her "smile, wink, wink gotcha." Thank you for becoming a teacher. Thank you for the many hours of lesson planning, grading and continuing education. Thank you for changing the world without even knowing what that will be.

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William A. Ward

Sincerely,
Your Student's Mama