It's really laughable how little I swing by here these days. Still this journal is a good way to vent & also hopefully inspire those that may need a bit of a boost. It's been a trying few years for so many. Troubles abound in this world. Hard to feel grateful for anything. No exception on my end. Learned earlier this week my shift as work is just going away starting this coming Monday. Have no clue what that means for me. No one is telling me anything. Will I be moved to 1st shift? Will I just be let go? Still don't know & not knowing is the worst part. Learned this morning that my dad has essentially what is called vascular dementia. Basically means he'll have more & more TIA episodes & his memory & cognitive function will continue to deteriorate. My 95 y/o grandmother also learned she has stage 3B kidney failure. Fortunately her medication is keeping them functioning enough not to need dialysis. Also I'm dealing with a bothersome sinus infection but have to go into work this evening, Starting early though at 3pm so should be done before midnight at least. My folks are coming up Friday to visit & we'll have a Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrell since I'm off tomorrow.

So yeah not a set of circumstances one wants to face when entering the holiday season. This is not meant to be a pity party post for me though. As I state in the journal title, I am thankful despite all this. Simply because there's always something to be grateful for. Always something we've been blessed with. Funny story from last week. My nub-tailed mini panther Cecelia had a check-up at the vet. Her blood work came back with slightly elevated white blood cells & low platelet count. Nothing to be alarmed about. Just had to keep on eye on her & nothing's out of the ordinary. Vet told me it could be stress. I just had to laugh at that. She's lived quite the good life ever since she was placed on the stairs going down to my then apartment 7 years ago. She's not the only one blessed by that event. She came into my life at one of my lowest points in life. Was coming off severe depression. Didn't make any sense as I had then a very good job. Had a nice place & was really thriving on my own. Depression never makes sense though & it took a lot to pull out of it. Was so bad I had contemplated suicide a few times. Having Cecelia helped to lift me out of that with professional help & right medication as well but I just can't express how much it's helped having her. I've weather a lot of rough seas since 2021. Most of us did but I was able to find strength to push through it all simply by realizing I'm more blessed than I may think at times. Be strong my friends. Always find something to be grateful for. There's always something^^