It is Nov. 1! I almost forgot! It is time to start my annual tradition of daily affirmations of gratitude!
I started many years ago to help counteract the negativity that was rampant on Facebook and other social media.
Now, it is just good practice. Today, I am grateful for the beauty of the changing colors and season.
Nov. 2: I am grateful for a pleasant drive in the morning and a friend to share coffee with before work.
Nov. 3: I am grateful for falconry. It got me up and out on a cold morning for a walk in the woods. It also got my cardiac workout in when my bird refused to return to me.
Nov. 4: I’m grateful for the ability to go out and experience the change in season. It is cold and I don’t have my winter gear so the briskness of the cold reminds me that I’m alive. I believe that is a good thing.
Nov. 5: As I am about to head into a challenging surgery, I am grateful for my surgical skills. I came to vet med in a time where you did not have to be perfect to try things and learn. Because of a solid foundation and continual striving to improve, I know that this pet has a better chance at life because of me. Note: feel free to remind me of this if the planets do not perfectly align and the pet dies or has to be put to sleep. Even though my skills are better than ever before, so is my ability to blame myself for everything. Responsibility is a good thing, it means I force myself to be better.
Later that day: I did a very good job at an almost impossible tumor. I got the tumor out, but the dog died before surgery was finished. Perhaps, given the tumor, that was best.
Nov. 6: I’m grateful for support and acknowledgment that my team and I get. Yesterday, two clients went out of their way to say thank you. There were several comments of support on yesterday’s post and this morning a client that is usually challenging told my staff thanks. It means a lot.
Nov. 7: I’m grateful for the extra hour of sleep that daylight savings time reset allows. In a related positive expression, Foxtrot was quite bewildered at why I wasn’t up on time. Finally, after several new bruises on me, he was grateful for extra snuggle time.
Nov. 8: I am grateful for those that have helped me, often without knowing. I was recently challenged to write letters of gratitude to people who have had a positive influence on me personally. I wrote a couple, thought of a few that have “gone before” and I am still tracking down contact information on three. I am who I am because of them.
Nov. 9: I am grateful for mentors current and past. I am also grateful for the leadership I have been able to pass on. Although I did not succeed with Blake, I have helped many overcome demons. RIP Blake, your demons are now quiet, but you left some with us.
Nov. 10: I’m grateful for friends who are like family should be. So grateful to have a home away to visit.
Nov. 11: I am proud to have served. In the time that I was in, it was not popular to be in the military. Thank you for your support! #USGGA #GoBears
Nov. 12: I don’t talk about them often, but I am grateful for my family. My husband of 42 years puts up with quite a few of my adventures. My child is a senior at Wooster and, if the rambling chat last night is any indication, she is doing pretty well as an independent human. I like them both. Even more than the dogs. Well, sometimes.
Nov. 13: I’m grateful that for me, as the owner of Guardian Animal, a perfectly reasonable reason (read excuse) to be 10 minutes late on a Saturday morning is that the cat wanted to be petted. Of course, I am putting in 70 plus hours a week.
Nov. 14: I am grateful for my writing group. They provide positive interactions in a different realm. Most of my writing is facts designed to educate and teach. My fellow writers poke and prod and force me to work on my creative side. Today, we worked out some details for a book where a friend’s son and I and my hawks join a dragon in the dragon’s world.
The dragon had been injured and trapped in our world a few decades before this story. The writer’s group also lets me be human. They also cajole me into doing a book signing in Greenup on Dec. 11.
Nov. 15: I’m grateful for my falconry guys. The guys are all great hunters, while I lack this skill. My birds are well trained, but we mostly go out for walks in the woods.
But my knowledge of falconry over the years and my knowledge of medicine means the guys put up with my bad hunting.
I have a hunting partner who is encouraging and supportive and a padawan that looks up to me for his own encouragement and support.
To be continued…

MJ Wixsom, DVM MS is a best-selling Amazon author who practices at Guardian Animal Medical Center in Flatwoods, Ky. GuardianAnimal.com 606-928-6566