Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday. Maybe it’s my love for cooking and eating delicious food, maybe it’s my Italian roots, maybe it’s that it’s the first hint of the holiday season before things get full swing in-your-face-it’s-Christmas. But to me, there’s nothing better in the world than sitting around a huge table filled with delicious food, good wine, and those who matter most.

It’s also a time to regroup, relax, and most importantly reflect, and I always have tons of time to do just that as I drive the 14 round-trip hours to and from Pennsylvania.

Honestly, I could write for days about what I’m thankful for. It’s been quite a year! But while my thoughts were scattered and darting in various directions during the car ride (which, if you know me, is quiiitee typical), they kept coming back to this one thought: I’m thankful for forgiveness from my friends and family. 

Because here’s the thing. Over the past year, The Little Things has made tremendous gains, and I’m so grateful for that. But, as anyone who’s ever owned a business can tell you, that growth doesn’t come without sacrifice. And that sacrifice can be difficult.

I am so, so, SO lucky to have a wonderful support system around me- friends and family who consistently and authentically cheer for The Little Things, who hear about the challenges of being an entrepreneur struggling to keep up, who brainstorm and offer candid advice, who offer listening ears and supportive thoughts whenever asked. Consistently. Authentically. And who, this year, really have done so without getting the same in return from me.

You see, while in the process of figuring out the whole working for myself thing, while navigating best practices for small business accounting and marketing and sales and blogging and instagramming and managing staff and whether I should use Basecamp or Asana as my task manager and – you get the point – I haven’t always been the selfless, relaxed, giving friend that my friends and family deserve. Worse, while they’ve been showing up for and supporting me, I haven’t always done the same for them. One of my very best friends married the love of his life this year and I couldn’t be there because I had a TLT wedding on the same date. It was heartbreaking to not get to celebrate with them, but much, much worse to feel like I was letting him, his new wife, and his family down by not being there.

But, despite not having been the best version of myself in regards to my relationships for a little while, despite not always reciprocating the support I’ve felt from those closest to me, despite not physically being able to be there for important moments, my support system is still there. Consistently. Authentically. They’ve sympathized with my stresses, they’ve cheered me on, they’ve forgiven me while I figure it out. And I am so thankful. xo