Gratitude and thankfulness are keys to a positive life. I am grateful every single day for having a platform I can write and share my thoughts and feelings with thousands across the world! Whether it is in a prose, such as my latest post, or sharing my poems, or writing books on Amazon, I'm grateful for my writing skills and my communication abilities, despite a natal Chiron in Gemini (in astrology, Chiron is the wounded healer. It shows what we struggle with that we ultimately come to heal in this lifetime. Gemini rules communication, learning, K-12 education, mental health, thoughts).
Any who, enough astrology talk. I would like to share a spotlight on some things and people I am absolutely grateful and thankful for this year, 2025. I plan on making this a yearly post in November.
Cool New People I've Met
- I'm grateful for my new friend Tina. She and I went to school together but we never really orbited each other until she friended me on Facebook. We struck up a conversation one day, and she has been such a great friend to me. Her CNA / caretaker knowledge has helped me so much with navigating stuff with my dad in the hospital. She also recommended a fantastic book I am currently reading, titled Role Reversal: How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents. I'd be up a crick if it weren't for Tina and her knowledge. I'm grateful our paths crossed 20+ years later.
- I'm thankful for my Instagram friend @jijisworldd, Jiji. She's an amazing friend and she's always encouraging. She was one of my earliest supporters on my tarot reading Instagram. I try to support her YouTuber journey as much as I can. I am inspired by her endless creativity and her kindness.
- I'm grateful for two vendors I interacted with at Witches Weekend this year. Amy of American Art & Glass, and Ruthie. I had the pleasure to read their tarot cards and they had nothing but nice words to say. They both even offered to take some business cards of mine to give to their friends. I hope I run into them both next year and purchase some of their goodies (we traded with each other this year).
- A man named Brandon who read my aura at Totem Books. He was a pretty cool dude who didn't ridicule me when I read his tarot cards (and failed miserably!). He read my aura before he got a reading with me at my free tarot reading event. He said my aura was very bright. And he said it was blue, green, pink, and light blue. The light blue was sadness. The blue means I am an honest communicator. And the green was healing energy and pink was full of love.
People In My Life Who Have Returned
- Jill Welch. I'm so grateful to my elementary teacher. She cheers me on with my writing and in life. It has been wonderful reconnecting with her on Facebook. She has made a real difference in my life by nurturing my abilities in school. She also taught me empathy as a child. And shared a ton of life lessons, such as not smoking and drinking, especially while pregnant, and making me feel good in my skin like Niki Taylor.
- Lauralyn Kearney. My life coach/business coach/editor/and friend. How many hats does Lauralyn wear in my life?! lol. But seriously, I appreciate her talent and her friendship so much. Her kindness, her empathy, and her love flow through me. I met Lauralyn in 2008/2009? When I reached out to her Angel Therapy business, where she was a gifted medium (the only one I believe in) and she did a reading on my beloved cat from childhood, Friske. She said I would find another cat. While she described a white cat, I found another cat — who looked like Friske! My beloved Razzles! That reading was so healing. She also predicted I would be a writer and tarot reader for a long time. And believe it or not, she was on TV once! She was on WeTV's The Secret Lives of Women. That's how I found her! Lol.
- Sarshi. Sarshi is my friend I met on Facebook back in 2022/2023. We met on my tarot reading page and been friends ever since. Sarshi is a talented artist and I appreciate their art so much! I also appreciate being neurodivergent together, sharing a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder and autism. Before a doctor diagnosed me with bipolar disorder, I had a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.
- Justin, the ex. Okay, okay, Justin gets a poor reputation in my writing world. He's the Trump supporter. He's the one who can treat me like a liberal punching bag. He's the one who lacks empathy and is highly logical. But you know what? He's a better friend than he is a lover. That's why he's my best friend. Even though he agrees with everything that is wrong with this world, he is my rock. He's someone I want to reach out to with every bad/good thing that happens to me. We met online on an adult-oriented Internet forum of a famous sex story site. And we've been friends ever since. What started with lust, turned into friendship, turned into a horrible relationship experience, to being friends. We met in person in 2012 and dated briefly in 2013. He dumped me for someone else who he met on the adult-oriented forum. He claimed she was his soulmate. And then she just used him for his money and dumped him. He was heartbroken for a few years. Then, he finally noticed me. And that's where the story of our two-year relationship began.
Family
- My mom and dad. Seriously. I am always grateful and thankful for them. Every single day in my life. When they make me want to pull my hair out and scream. When they make me cry when they yell at me. And of course, when they show me love through their own love language (which is gifts and quality time). I'm glad these two humans met and fell in love. Although I am not sure why they created me and if I am grateful they created me, maybe someone out there is grateful they created me LOL. Highly doubt it, but whatevs.
- My niece & nephew, Frances & Sollux. These two are my babies for life. I never had the opportunity to have children of my own. They showed me how hard it is to raise a child. They showed me how much energy you needed and how much love you must give. I appreciate them for letting me be a kid with them, growing up with them in a way in my 20s and 30s. Now that they are young adults, they're great people. Great humans I helped raise. Frances is a big-hearted, empathetic individual. Sollux is a humorous rebel beating to his own drum. I'm so proud of them and the humans they're turning out to be. I'm grateful for all the laughs we shared while they were babies and kids. I'm grateful for all the memories that make me smile.
- My cousin Tanya. She's my best cousin friend FIVE-ever. She was someone I looked up to as a kid. She was also instrumental in me never picking up a cigarette despite it looking so cool to me. Her kindness, nurturing, and humor bring me a lot of joy. I am also grateful for summers spent together in Baldwin, Michigan, and Manistique, Michigan. She was probably the only family member who didn't ridicule me when I had tantrums and meltdowns. And she didn't mind me "dancing" (otherwise known as autistic flapping) in my underwear.
- My sister Jenny. My sister and I don't really have that great of a relationship. In fact, she once stated "We're too different to attempt a relationship." That hurt. But yet, it's probably true. She's someone I also looked up to and adored. And I still look up to her and adore her. She inspired my taste in the 1980s cartoons and music (The Cure, The Smiths, Shakespear's Sister, Debbie Gibson...). She's 7.5 years older than I am. I'm still grateful to her because she does my hair, and she loves me, even though we're not best friends like you see other sisters on TV. I'm grateful she inherited my grandma Annette's profession and can at least make my hair look good.
- My Uncle Jim Tate III. My uncle Jim is also neurodivergent. He has ADHD and possibly autism. We bond over that. He recently attended a book signing back in June. And he purchased three of my books (one of which was for a friend). He has such an enormous heart, and he's a giant. He looks tough, but deep down he's a softy. That's his Cancer sun. I've always appreciated my Uncle Jim because he's different from most of the Tates. I respect him.
- My Uncle Dale & Aunt Vicky. My Uncle Dale & Aunt Vicky are amazing people. They're the kindest, gentlest people ever. I'm grateful for their presence in my life. They are the only aunt and uncle who send me a birthday card on my birthday. I love them so much.
- My "Uncle Dude" aka Corey Tate. I'm grateful he makes me laugh when I am down and he reminds me that I am a Tate and I don't take shit from no one. And he reminds me that life is worth living and he'd kick my ass if I killed myself lol. He also warded off a stalker for me. Although that stalker tried to return in 2025 on my Facebook author page. I blocked him. And haven't heard from him since. If that stalker knows what's best for him, he'd stay away. My Uncle Dude and my Uncle Jim are very protective of me and know how to hide bodies ;-) HA! My Uncle Dude is also my biggest fan of my writing (maybe not as big as Uncle Jim LOL). He tells me he is so proud of me and this whole family is proud of me.
- My grandma Annette, my grandpa Harold. As I get older, I appreciate them more and more. They looked after my sister and I growing up. My grandma handled my meltdowns like a pro. She was kind, empathetic, and caring. She would listen to me talk about the boys at school that I liked and give me her wisdom. She would take me to McDonald's for dinner and let me play on the outdoor play-place, as long as I ate my dinner, which I did with her! My grandpa was funny. He would always call me a Farmer. And instead of hugs, I would give him high-fives because I felt uncomfortable hugging my grandpa. He did nothing to me. I was just shy, I guess. My grandpa would tease me and my grandma would have to butt in and defend me or tell Grandpa to knock it off. I took his death hard when he died in 1996. He was the first enormous loss in my life. I would dream about him coming back to life. In one dream, he told me that my dad's ankle would heal in two weeks. My dad's ankle healed two weeks after the dream (he fell off the ladder while cleaning the gutters). I wrote a paper in high school psychology about that phenomenon. I haven't had a dream about my grandpa Harold in a long time. I miss him. I also miss my grandma Annette.
- My Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jim. Their love started it all. Without them, there would be no dad. No me. My Grandma Donna was kind of an aloof woman. But she loved me, when I wasn't whining or being a spoiled brat. Grandma and I were close for living cities and eventually states away. We would write letters. She would share stories and wisdom. We would talk about family. She told me she always wanted to be a writer and that her life story was more controversial than Peyton Place. I still wonder what she meant by that. I have read Peyton Place and I imagine it was controversial for its time. It's also one of my favorite books. But I still wonder what was controversial in my grandma's life that would outshine Peyton Place.
As for my grandpa Jim, I'm grateful for his love of music and songwriting. He has passed it down to me. Although I don't write songs, I write poems. I wish I wrote songs. My grandpa Jim was stubborn but friendly. He used to say about his grandchildren that they were all beautiful and there wasn't an ugly one in the bunch.
Grandma Donna and Grandpa Jim divorced but remained friends. Grandma found love with Dwayne Sheffer, and my Grandpa found love with Karen Bielby (the step-grandmother who taught me how to read tarot cards).
Things I'm Grateful For
1. My new laptop. After my old laptop crashed after I tried downloading an update for the Sims and make room for that update, this laptop is a dream. It's also probably the last laptop I will ever have bought for me. My parents gifted me this laptop for my 41st birthday. They knew I needed it for business and my writing.
2. McDonald's. I know McDonald's is not the healthiest thing. But it's food. It's my comfort food. When I am stressed out, I long for a two-cheeseburger meal. When I want to celebrate, I want a Quarter Pounder with cheese meal.
3. Pizza. Pizza sustained me for the longest time. I am grateful for it although now I'm kinda sick of it LOL. No pizza place makes good pizza. It's all okay.
4. Music. I'm grateful for music. It's the only loud thing I appreciate. I love singing to Taylor Swift, and love thinking about future meet and greets with New Kids On The Block when I listen to them.
5. Totem Books. They supported me for a long time as a tarot reader. Since 2022. Although they no longer have the metaphysical fairs, they believe in me as a tarot reader and as a writer. They buy my books, accept my tarot card and oracle card donations, and they let me do my free reading event and hang my business cards and flyers on their community board.
6. Spinach. I'm grateful for one green I can tolerate!
7. Kosher Dill Pickles. Okay...this is another green, is it not?
8. Water. I lived outside of Flint. The water crisis made me thankful for Burton's clean water. I live near Burton and Flint, and I was thankful that our water was not contaminated.
9. Therapy and mental health meds. I'm grateful I have access to therapy and my mental health medications. Without Medicaid, I would have to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for mental health care alone. And being a writer and tarot reader, I am not sitting on stacks of cash yet. Not even a little.
10. Although cats are NOT things, and they are family, I forgot to put them with family. And they should be number one! But I am grateful to Sassy and Skittles. They are my babies now. I adore the heck out of them. Their unconditional love makes me whole. Who needs a man when you have cats? :-D
And that is who and what I am grateful for. Until next year!
Tell me below, what is the number one thing or person you're grateful for this year?
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