What I Am Thankful For

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that caught my eye. It was brought to you by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was previously hosted at The Broke and the Book.

This weeks theme is things I am thankful for. This post will be like my non-bookish hobbies post as I don’t have a full 10 things to be thankful for. Warning this post is majority about how thankful I am of my dog.

Oska

This shouldn’t come as a surprise that I am thankful for Oska. If you don’t know Oska is my 7-year-old Golden Retriever. People say the dog should choose the owner and that is exactly what he did. When I went to help pick the new puppy out with my parents I helped bring a few of the puppies to the play area, all of the puppies started chewing my shoelaces except one. He sat on my foot and looked up at me and I knew we were going to take him home. Overall he wouldn’t leave us alone and would just follow us around. I remember my Dad turning to me and he said ‘you won’t let us choose any other dog but him will you?’ and he was right, I had already fallen in love with him. Oska was meant to be the family dog, but it took very little time for it to become apparent he was the family dog in name only.

He has had a lot of problems with his joints and had his first operation at the age of 6 months, but you wouldn’t be able to tell, he is full of life and has a very high pain tolerance.

I have been struggling with depression and anxiety since I was 16, and this dog has been there for me every single day since. He’s stayed in my room for hours on end keeping me company. Been able to pick up when I am down and made sure to be close to me. Oska is my happy place, and I can’t even describe how thankful I am to have him in my life and what he has done for me.

Mum

Along with Oska, I am so thankful to have my mum. She is the type of person that will put others in front of herself every single time. Mum has been dealing with my depression and anxiety and Dad’s Alzheimer’s all at the same time. So she has been looking after us both and never gives up. She has so much going on and will always find the time when people need it. So mum thank you for being my mum, never giving up on me and loving me when I didn’t love myself.

Leroy

Leroy is one of my horses, he is like Oska but in a horse form. Since I have mental health problems, there are times when I won’t go out and work him, but he takes it into his stride and is always waiting for when I feel better. He also helps with my anxiety, in a way I can’t explain and that is different than how Oska helps me.

Books

I am thankful to have books in my life. When I read they give me an escape from reality and keep me entertained when I don’t have much else to do.

My Friends

There are people in my life who have accepted me for who I am and they love me for me, I am thankful for my friends that are always there when I need them.