30 Days of Thanksgiving

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There is always something to be thankful for

30 Days of Thanksgiving

When this graphic came across my feed, I thought it would be a perfect quote to share with the 30DOT page. "There is always something to be thankful for." I think that it's true that no matter how bad things might seem, its almost always possible to find a way to look on the bright side. Lost your job? Well, now you can explore a new career or pick up a new hobby. What are some things that you do to stay positive? I wrote in one of my thankfulness posts that I've gone through several periods of unemployment. I find that as stressful and uncomfortable as

30 Days of Thanksgiving
those times were, being without a job actually opened up some new opportunities that I wouldn't have expected. First of all, while I was in between jobs back in 2000 my wife went back to work and I stayed home with our daughter, Kayla, who was right around a year old at the time. I think that the time I spent taking care of Kayla really helped us bond as father and daughter. I also used the extra time I had to produce a series of birthday videos for Kayla's first birthday, which also gave me a chance to dabble in video production without the stress of having to meet someone else's schedule or standards. While I was unemployment and hunting for a job in 2007, I was able to dabble a little bit more in web design. I became involved by developing a website for the Shepherd Sesquicentennial. I later joined the village's Planning commission, a position that I am still serving. I was never happy about any of my job changes, but as I look back I've grown to understand that it might have all been for a specific reason. There is no other way that I could have gained the combination of skills and experience that I have now, other than holding those different jobs. If I could have known then what I know now, I might have been able to relax a little bit more and feel thankful for the opportunities that were being offered to me.

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