Gratitude

As we enter into Thanksgiving break, it is natural that our minds are turning to what we are grateful for and we have had a lot of conversations about this lately as a department.

Today, we had the chance to help distribute full Thanksgiving meals to some of our Kilbourne families because of the generosity of the parishoners at Worthington Presbyterian Church. We are so thankful for the partnership that they have with us and their willingness to help brighten the holiday for many within WKHS. The counselors and administrators were lucky to be able to participate in this outreach effort.

As we talked about the things we are most grateful for, it was only natural that it turned not to things, but to people. Each of us identified our family, friends, coworkers, and students as being among the top of our gratitude list! We hope that you know that we truly are thankful for YOU and for the fact that you welcome us into your lives and allow us to walk alongside you in your high school journey.

Mrs. Himmel spoke about how grateful she is for her kids and how resilient they are. Mrs. Schnell built on that and shared how thankful she is for how her family shows up for each other, the way she and her husband parent together and work in tandem. Mrs. Mann and Mrs. Lord also expressed their gratitude for being able to watch their kids grow and blossom as they explore their own interests and take on new challenges.

Mrs. Mann was the first to identify something we all too often overlook - her health! She shared that she is grateful for her health because, in spite of some ailments, nothing has prevented her from living a fulfilling life. With so many stories within the Worthington community lately of people who are struggling with their health, this area of emphasis resonated with all of us. And Mrs. Schnell focused not only on her own health, but also that both of her kids are healthy and love to laugh and smile every day.

We are all thankful to work on a team together that trusts and respects one another. Who have become friends and not just colleagues and who support and encourage each other to achieve things we could never accomplish alone. A lot of my gratitude lately has been focused on my team and my students (past and present) who fill my life with so much joy. Plus, I am also grateful that I can bring Lexi to school every day and watch the way she is loved by so many students at WKHS.

And, don't get me wrong, as we talked about gratitude we did have lots of "fun" examples too... Girls trips, elastic in pants, hotel stays with butlers who draw baths, holiday lights, reading as an escape, snow days, chips and queso at Mexican restaurants, sweet baby snuggles, chocolate, and so many more.

I don't know what all will make it onto your list of things you are most thankful for this Thanksgiving, but we hope that your list includes both people and fun things that bring your life joy and meaning!

**Just a reminder, this post is also being shared on the NEW WKHS Counselor blog. This blog site will no longer be active beyond 2025 so you can transition to receive all blog posts emailed directly to you by subscribing to the new blog site.**