Isn’t it nuts how time really does fly? How is it mid-November already? It seems like just yesterday, Karin and I were chatting over sushi in the summer of ‘09 about how we wanted to start a daily blog together. I wasn’t pregnant, had no plans to move any time soon, and actually, wasn’t even writing at all at the time. Now, just 14 months later, I’m about to have a baby, an official Delawarean, and a magazine columnist. Plus, our year-long blog is mere DAYS from being completed! How did that happen? Isn’t it crazy how much can change in one year?
I am so happy Karin and I decided to partner together for Naked Thanks. Just knowing I’d let her down if I decided to skip writing my note for the day made me motivated to make it to 365 entries. And even though Karin couldn’t publish her final entries due to a conflict with her new job, just seeing her unpublished notes on the back end of this blog made me want to continue with it. Because honestly, sometimes, at 1AM after a long day, taking an hour to come up with a reason to be grateful was kinda hard. At least harder than I initially thought.
Plus, as much as Karin and I are alike, we’re also so different. Whereas I think sometimes I let my nerves get in the way of living my life (uh, my fear of flying, my worry about leaving Ollie with a sitter, my anxiety about meeting a totally irrational premature death), Karin is honestly the master of living in the now. Whereas I’d be about as likely to climb Mount Everest as I would be to eat a piece of candied cow shit, Karin did it of her own accord, under no duress or offer of large amounts of money.
Then there’s the fact that I always have the intention of doing something, but never actually do it. For example, I think I’ve signed up for ten marathons now but never run in one. Karin, on the other hand, is almost ready to complete her fourth real marathon! She’ll get out and run fourteen miles on a rainy day when I’m too lazy to even get up to brush my teeth. That alone has been a lesson in perseverance for me, but add to that the fact that she’s a carreer-driven go-getter and, well, frankly, I’ve found it very inspiring. I think my tendency would have been to settle down, have kids, and almost let my career dreams fly out the window, but seeing her work her way into a dream job at a national newspaper has been a good example for me. It’s made me realize that motherhood doesn’t mean I have to give up my life — or goals.
Going into the next year, I’m sure Karin and I will still talk all the time and continue this blog, though not in the same write-a-daily-thank-you kind of way, but I must say, I’m sad this project is coming to a close!
Good thing we did the photo shoot for the masthead BEFORE I was pregnant!
One month to go until Karin and my year-long goal of Naked Thanking comes to an end! Because we began writing these notes on November 14, 2009, our last “official” day of thanking is November 13th. Exactly 31 days from now. I really can’t believe it’s been 11 months that I’ve been writing these notes. I literally have HUNDREDS of pages of gratitude squirreled away in Word and Google docs all over my computer. I’ve never written so much in my life. The sheer volume of my notes and explanations (350+ pages single spaced!) astounds me. It’s like the most detailed diary I’ve ever written in my life!
And even though Karin isn’t hitting the “publish” button on her notes anymore, don’t worry, she’s still writing them. I see them every night when I update my blog posts. It’s a shame her work won’t allow her to partake in any outside writing, but I’m still happy I’m not going at this whole 365-days-of-thanks thing alone.
Quite honestly, I’m excited and sad this blog is coming to a close. I’ll still be updating the blog after November 13th, but with this new baby on the way, there’s no way I could write and publish a daily thank you. I’m planning to make much more use of my camera when posting; maybe instead of notes I’ll simply put up pictures of my daily thanks. Plus, we have a great spin-off blog in the works…but more on that later.
What really amazes me, is that I’ve actually done something I said I was going to do for (almost) an entire year. While Karin can easily stick to goals (uh, the girl’s climbed Mount Everest and run like 5 marathons now…), I struggle more with goal-ADD. I start things and never finish them. Books, projects, jobs, relationships — you name it and I’ve stopped short. So the fact that I’m only a month away from doing something for 365 days is a really big accomplishment for me. Here’s to the next month of thanks!
It's amazing how much has changed for both Karin and I in this year of thanks -- all for the better. She got a new job, climbed the world's highest mountain, is learning to not fear children...while I grew another baby in my belly, moved outta the city and to the beach, and actually did something I said I was going to do. See what good things gratitude can bring!
This week, I’ll admit, while I’ve been up in Erie, I’ve been getting a tad lazy and thinking, “Aw, it’d be nice to skip writing a thank you note today.” I’m on vacation; I’ve been staying up late, sleeping in, and just acting generally careless. Consequently, writing thank yous hasn’t seemed so appealing.
But then I think of Karin, on vacation in Nepal and I imagine her scrawling notes into some mountain climbing manual with the burnt edge of a stick and I feel ashamed to be so lazy. Seriously, Karin is a die-hard thanker. I mean, I’m here in Erie PA and I find it hard to keep the routine of posting and she can do it while climbing the world’s tallest mountain? Uh, that’s kind of pathetic on my part. But really, if you’ve been reading this blog at all, you probably don’t think that’s so crazy. Because while I thank the makers of Cheez Balls Karin thanks her marathon running shoes. While I can be sloth-like and loafing, Karin is determined and persistent. Truly, we are opposite creatures in so many ways (but yet bonded together in friendship by things like a shared love for efficient hair removal and F. Scott Fitzgerald novels…you know, the important stuff).
When we started this blog almost 9 months ago we figured it was good that we were so opposite. I’m a mom, she’s a single gal. I’m blonde, she’s brunette. But we never really took into account that we’d learn so much from one another’s differences. Yet now, with only about three months to go on our year-long thanking goal, I’m realizing just seeing my thank yous so close to hers on a daily basis has definitely enhanced me as a person because it forces me to compare myself (and life) with hers.
So maybe it’s as little a change as not reaching into the chip bag to devour that last handful of salt and vinegars after reading a post about her running 21 miles. Or it could be something as simple as me deciding to shave my legs and dress myself in something other than sweatpants after reading about an extra glamorous gala or fashion shoot she attended. Whatever the small change, this blog has been a great experience even just to look at someone’s life outside my own and compare mine too– something for which I’m very grateful (the main point of this blog!).
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