The Silver Lining

So I think I've finally recovered from my jetlag and life is finally feeling like it's back to normal after my amazing trip to China. Of course I'll fill you in on my trip and show you all the pics I took, but that will have to wait for next week. This week, I'm busy enjoying being home, sleeping in my own bed next to LoLo, cuddling with Bronx, and seeing my family.

Right before I left for China, I wrote a post about my decision not to go to the Philippines and instead to come home right after the conference. It was a tough choice and I felt sad about it for a while (and still do when it's 40 degrees here in Maine and it's 80 in Manila!), but I know it was the right choice.

When I wrote the post, the wounds were fresh and I was feeling really disappointed that I wouldn't be going on the trip. I felt frustrated with myself for trusting my friend and for letting myself be let down. I wrote that I should have known not to trust anyone.

When my Aunt Marta read the post, she immediately wrote back to me on Facebook and said, "So happy you will be home for Thanksgiving with your family...who btw...you can ALWAYS trust, so on your leisurely flight aroung the world, you go on back to your blog, and put a big line thru the statement "I should have known not to trust anyone"."

And she was so right. I can always trust my family. They have been there for me through all of my mistakes, all of my triumphs, and through all of my tough choices. 

So this Thanksgiving, like the others before, I'm thankful for them. I'm thankful for being home with them to laugh and eat. I'm thankful to be home with my husband so we can cook our part of the Thanksgiving meal, a pastelon de yuca, together. 

And speaking of my husband, I'm thankful for his thoughtfulness and his creativity. 

When I got home on Monday after many, many hours of traveling (including about 9 hours at LoLo's mom's house before my flight to Portland), I walked up the stairs to find this: 

Along with a note that said to pour myself a cup of coffee in my zodiac sign mug (he had set the timer to brew the coffee right before I got home)

And to cut myself a slice of the cake he had made for me (which by the way is so tasty! It's banana cake with a layer of chocolate hazelnut spread (nutella basically) inside).

So to all of my friends reading this, Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that things happen for a reason and that I will be sitting at a table with my family and my amazing husband tomorrow instead of all alone in a city that I don't know.