#thankfulproject | a place

I'm joining up on this sunny Sunday with Chasing Happy for her November Thankful Project. Each day this month she has come up with a topic and today's topic of a place I am thankful for in my life has been on my mind A LOT recently. I love this idea and hope that I will be able to participate more throughout the month.

Today, 2 places stand out in my mind that I'm most thankful for having touched my life.  These two places have allowed me to grow, taught me many lessons and created many memories.  They will always hold a special place in my heart.

I am thankful for Lake Huron. I am thankful for this place I grew up, for my parents giving me an opportunity to experience the lake. I am thankful for it's ever-changing beauty and for the lake teaching me to not be afraid, for creating my love for the water and inspiring me to take the steps I took to be where I am today. I am thankful for all of the memories this great lake holds, including the many days I spent exploring as a child, family time and even getting married here. I am thankful for its peacefulness and its ability to calm and relax you. I am thankful that I am able to go back whenever my little heart needs a dose of its fresh air.

I am thankful for Alaska.  I can't even begin to imagine the people we'd be today, let alone where our relationship would be today, if Steve and I hadn't of spent the time we did in Alaska.  I am thankful for the beauty of the Alaska, for the people we met, life lessons we learned, adventures we took and all of the memories this great state holds. I am thankful that this was the first place I called home as an adult, the first place Steve and I lived together, the place we bought our first car together and the place we got engaged. I am thankful for my first "big girl" job and for the experience I gained from it.  I am thankful for the opportunities it gave Steve to develop as a hockey player. I am thankful that this is a place we will continue to visit as we grow older and that we will allow our children to experience. I am thankful for this place I love, a place that feels perfectly right for me, a place that fulfills my dreams and a place that I can say I fell in love with.

Places are like people - they touch us, they push us and they make us feel comfortable and at home. Places have the power to influence us and shape us into the people we are today.  So, when you find a place that makes you happy, that makes you smile, that makes you laugh and that makes you be a better person, be thankful.  Hold onto that place.

Do you have a place that holds a piece of your heart?