My theme for this month’s Nano Poblano challenge is Motion.  I found myself being really moved today by gratitude for the people and situations in my life.

Today was our annual Thanksgiving lunch at work and I am grateful for an amazing meal.

This is a day I look forward to all year.  The hotel throws down like an acre of food – there’s a huge buffet of  traditional holiday favorites: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, corn, salad, rolls and cornbread.  Plus there’s a giant table filled with desserts from chocolate cakes and cookies to apple, pecan and pumpkin pie and coffee, sodas, bottled waters, sweet and unsweetened iced teas.

Lions, tigers and bears…oh my!

My old sales coordinator used to joke that we “trained” for it several days in advance, to be sure we could take advantage of all the wonderful food offered in the yearly spread, including skipping breakfast the morning of and taking a couple of laps around the hotel lobby just before to “clear a little more room.”

I think it was even better this year than in years past.

It was so incredibly delicious and Thanksgiving food is my absolute favorite, but to my shame, I couldn’t finish my first plate and I even gave up halfway through the pun’kin pie!

It was really nice to hang out with some of my team though, and enjoy such a lovely meal.

Which brings me to my second thing – I’m overwhelmingly lucky to work with such great people in my department. 

Despite being in an industry that produces daily, sometime hourly, challenging and stressful situations, they always maintain a steady, slightly warped sense of humor and an unimpeachable camaraderie that’ll keep you going even when you want to throw up your hands and walk out the door.  They’re fun people.  And funny.  We enjoy each other’s company and hearing about each other’s lives even if we don’t spend much time together outside of work.

Which leads me to number three: I’m thankful for one of the best bosses I’ve had the privilege to work for in my life. 

Before coming to this job, I worked for a company where my boss wasn’t so great.

I’ll leave it at that.  It’s an understatement.

My current boss has been with us for about three years now and while results driven and pulling unprecedented numbers for the company, he manages to create an environment where everyone feels their opinion is valued.  Not only has he consistently had my back, but if I screw up, I can walk into his office and say, “Wow, did I ever #@$% up.  I need your help.”  ::sniffle:: And inevitably he will say, “Yeah, it can’t be as bad as you think.  Let’s just fix it.”

Oh and he wears really nutty socks in lurid colors and we will randomly respond to each other’s emails in the form of memes.

It’s the little things.

So for these things, little and big (plus a ton more) I am truly grateful.

Three Things Thursday is a blog challenge hosted by the lovely Ms. Emily’s Home for Full Grown Nerds, that simply asks that you name three things that made your life awesome this week.