Counting the Gifts You Already Have

Thanksgiving week came and went, and I never wrote the post about things for which I am thankful. I was too busy having fun cooking (and eating!) and spending time with family.

Since the season of giving is upon us, and Tuesday is Giving Day, I created a list of 25 gifts for which I am grateful, one for each of the first 25 days of December. How many gifts do you already have? Can you think of at least 25? 

Here are mine:

1. My husband, Charles, and the family I married into: we just celebrated our 28^th anniversary on November 30.                                                                                                       
   
    
2. My two children, Preston and Maggie. Having a child is truly a miracle.
3. Being a mother - my most important job.
4. My parents, Professor Huey and Dr. Mary Tom Long, who were wonderful parents and two terrific role models for me to grow up around.
5. My brother, Darden Long.
6. All my nieces and nephews.
7. My second mama, Becky Ford.
8. Since both of my parents were only children, I don’t have any aunts or uncles. But was blessed to have relationships with relatives and close family friends I claimed as such: Frank and Liz, Aunt Frances and Uncle William, Uncle Bob and Aunt Marion          
   
9. So many dear close friends. Some I have had since growing up in Blacksburg; more since my four years at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. And even more: my Girls Night Out friends and my close friends in Career Services at Virginia Tech and at other schools!
10. My faith in God which keeps me grounded and going.
11. Growing up in the small Southwest Virginia college town of Blacksburg, VA.                 
12. Living in the country in Montgomery County and raising our children on a farm.        
    
13. Our dog, Lexi, and the many other pets (mostly dogs!) that have been a part of my life for most of my life.
14. My job as a career advisor. I love what I do!
15. The amazing team of co-workers I have the privilege to work with in Virginia Tech Career Services.                                                                                                                             
    
16. The leadership in Career Services and the Division of Student Affairs who support and encourage pursuit of professional development and leadership opportunities on campus, in professional organizations and across the US and embrace trying new initiatives.
17. All of the Career Services Interns and Graduate Assistants I have had the pleasure of working with throughout my time in Career Services. Still stay in contact with many of them, including Ariel Cohen who helped create this blog and still writes posts and maintains our site!
18. The multitude of students and alumni who have touched my life. That means you, Ashleigh Waddle.
19. The participants in our Friday English Conversation Group at Cranwell International Center. I have learned so much from people I have met on the Fridays I spend there.
20. Dr. Carl Stern who was one of my economics professors and supervisors when I was an undergraduate. Dr. Stern knew all about appreciative college instruction and applying positive psychology to teaching and advising years before the concept of appreciative advising was introduced.
21. The experience of studying abroad for a year at the University of Reading, England, as an undergraduate.
22. Having a liberal arts education from a single sex institution, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College.
23. Being a Hokie MBA!
24. My mentors and personal board of directors. Feel fortunate to have them to lean on and miss the ones no longer with us, like Dr. Norrine Bailey Spencer.            
     
    
25. And finally, I am grateful for these co-workers and/or friends who left us way too soon: Barbara K. Tipton, Mark Hunter, Paul Driscoll, and Christine Lindell