Gratitude

 I am filled with gratitude for so many things.

1. Experiences that have enriched my life and contributed to making me who I am. Places I've been able to visit. Incredible people I've met. 

           Sugar Loaf Mountain, Ireland

                                           Alghero, Sardinia, Italy

         Paris, France

         Sea of Galilee, Israel

2. Dear friends who have weathered so many experiences by my side. Living in another country, difficult classes and studying, late night conversations and pie baking, boyfriends, engagements, weddings, and babies.

          photo credit: Kaitlin Rasband 

3. Family that I don't get to see often enough.

4. This boy, who constantly makes me laugh, enjoys a good burger as much as I do, pretends to like having dance parties with me, always holds my hand, lets me cry even when I get mascara on his shirt, and makes sure I know how much he loves me. 

My life is full and I am overwhelmingly blessed. 

Letter #7: Grateful

Dear Cleveland,

If I'm completely honest, I don't always love my job.

When I graduated from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought about teaching, but didn't have a teaching degree. Editing or publishing seemed like they might be a good fit for an English major, but I couldn't seem to find jobs in these fields. 

So I ended up where I am. In a job that is good, by almost any standard, but that isn't my passion.

Recently, I've been trying to make an effort to be grateful for what I have. 

I have a job.

In a time when many don't, I do. I have a way to pay bills and support myself. I have a position that has taught me a lot-- my likes and dislikes, my personality quirks, my strengths and weaknesses. And I have the opportunity to work downtown, which has allowed me to explore Cleveland and get to know the city better.

And so, I am learning to be grateful, Dear Cleveland. I am grateful to be here. I am grateful to be getting to know this city. 


Love, 

Alix

It's Friday

I wasn't feeling very well this afternoon, so I left work a bit early. This time of year, by the time I finish work in the evening, it's starting to get dark and cold. But leaving earlier than I usually do was a breath of fresh air. Literally.

The sky was azure and the clouds were the kind that make you want to get in a plane and, when you're thirty thousand feet in the air, try to walk out onto them, just to see if they'll hold you. You know what I mean. You've totally thought about it before.

I went back to my apartment and finished up some work, but also had a chance to sit by the window, take in the gorgeous day, drink a warm beverage, and think. 

A much needed break at the end of the week. 

Letter #3: Country Mouse, City Mouse

Dear Cleveland,

I am a girl of extremes and of contradictions.

I am equally as extraverted as I am introverted. Just as Type A as I am Type B. And I can never decide if I am detail-oriented or if I see the big picture. 

Along the same lines, I feel equally comfortable in the city and in the country.

Lately, I have been grateful for the close proximity of your downtown and your wide open spaces.

Every day, I experience the pulse that is generated by busy intersections at rush hour, professionals wearing business attire and crowding local restaurants on their lunch breaks, and gangly teenagers in skinny jeans with asymmetrical haircuts sitting on the curb outside of Phoenix Coffee.

Yet, in a matter of minutes, I can feel a million miles away from the city. Honking car horns are replaced by chirping birds. Skyscrapers become a canopy of towering trees. I can walk along paths in the Metro-Parks. Or, as I did this weekend, have a cook-out with friends who own farm animals.

In the same day or even the same hour, I can go from one extreme to the other.

And so, Dear Cleveland, I thank you for being a small and accessible city.

Love,

Alix

Letter #1: Dear Cleveland, I Love You.

Dear Cleveland,

When I moved back to you after graduation, everyone thought I was crazy. And sometimes I agree.

Each and every time I feel the coldness of your winters penetrating my bones or get whipped in the face with sleet as I walk out of my apartment, I wonder why I am here. I question my decision sometimes when I think about the bliss of living in the year-round sunshine of Georgia or when I miss my family, 800 miles away.

But for every bad thing about you, there are so many more good things.

Lovely Summer days that are perfect for bike rides in the Metro-Parks. Cool Fall evenings, sitting by a campfire and making s’mores. Beautiful, old architecture and very little traffic. Restaurants. Arts. Culture. History.

I hope this blog will serve as a love letter to you, but also as a reminder to me that life is to be appreciated, even in Cleveland. Or maybe especially in Cleveland.


Alix