Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers!  I know it’s a bit cliche to be writing about what I am thankful for, but I have so much to be thankful for, this year especially.

Thinking back to Thanksgiving last year, I had just found out I was pregnant.  I was excited, scared, and nervous.  My husband and I decided it was too early to tell our families, so we spent the holiday trying to keep our secret.  My husband helped drink any alcohol that was served to me, and I tried to put a smile on even though I wasn’t feel well.

Flash forward to this year – our first Thanksgiving as a little family of three.  I made a roast duck, dressing, and mashed potatoes.  Nick is sick with a stomach flu, so he really couldn’t eat much.  But, it was a nice day just hanging out together.  It was so warm here that after dinner we went down to the pool!  The water was too cold to get in, so we just took a nap in the lounge chairs.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

Last year I really wasn’t sure how everything was going to work out – being pregnant and being in med school.  I feel so blessed this Thanksgiving.  It has been a very difficult year, but I can see how much I’ve changed and grown – as a person, as a future doctor, as a wife, and as a mother.  Sometimes I feel so different from the person I was back then.  The truth is, I am different.  In so many ways.

I have learned that I can handle much more than I ever thought I could.  I can get by on much less sleep than I even knew was possible.  I have learned to be less selfish, because as a mom you really have no choice.  I have talked with widowers and learned to always appreciate your spouse, because someday they might not be there.  I have had patients call me doctor and thank me for taking care of them, and even though I haven’t earned that title yet, I feel honored that they see me that way.

There have been so many wonderful, crazy, memorable, awful, beautiful, sad, lonely, perfect moments in the past year that I could never even put them into words.  I’ve been tested, literally and figuratively, more times than I can count.  I’ve succeeded, I’ve failed, I’ve felt inadequate, I’ve felt triumphant, and I’ve been angry all in the same day.  I’ve doubted, I’ve been determined, I’ve been happy, and I’ve cried over and over again and again.

But at the end of the day, this is my life.  And I am so thankful for it.