Tomorrow is Thanksgiving?! How did that happen? With the mild temperatures we've had here in Chicago (well at least until this week anyway, brr) that Thanksgiving has snuck up on us. It seems that's happening more and more these last few years as stores go from Halloween to Christmas in the blink of an eye. Sure, there may not be many Thanksgiving decorations or songs but here at SYDCON, we believe in the importance of being thankful and counting your blessings. Over the last few years, here on the blog, we have participated in the Thankful Challenge which I learned about over on my friend Gini Dietrich's blog SpinSucks. Since then, we have both done variations of the challenge. If you follow the link to SpinSucks above, you can see Gini's 2016 version. As for me, I went ahead and made my list. I tend to get distracted during my ten-minute window dwelling on each thing I can think of so my list tends to be short for 10 minutes. This year, I came up with 30 things, I am thrilled to share some highlights with you below.
1. The Cubs won the World Series. Wow, if this wasn't a nail biter, geez guys but it was such a fun ride. I am equally thankful that my Father in Law got to experience this along with all the other old timers. I so enjoyed reading all of their stories and feeling their relief and joy at the win!
2. We have a new office. YES! Finally! We were cramped and knew we had a opportunity for a great space if we just bid our time. Well, we waited and waited and then finally in March it happened. We moved into a gorgeous new facility and I am thrilled to say I no longer am sharing a office with Dave!!! Our staff kept growing and I kept moving around until I ended up at a folding table in the corner of Dave's office! So YAY for my glorious new space!
3. Family. Our kids are growing like weeds and make us proud in so many ways. This year our oldest turned 18 and is applying to colleges. She applied to 8 and has heard back from 6 so far. Accepted to them all with Merit Scholarships to boot! Our son is learning to drive and pitched a no hitter this year in his first year of high school baseball. Our youngest is growing and blossoming into a soon to be teenager. She is a basketball and volleyball player who loves to learn to code!
4. Mentoring. We are so thankful to be involved with School District 155 and help educate the students about the importance of technology and coding. We are so grateful that we have the ability to take the time out of our day to go into the classroom and share our knowledge.
5. Our clients. We appreciate all of our clients, new and long timers. Without each and every one of them, we would not be here today.
6. Zamboni the lap dog. No thankful list would be complete without my little white shadow who believes my lap is his throne and that he needs no permission to invade my space! 7.Our growing staff. When we started SYDCON 12 years ago (read our Anniversary post here), it was just Dave and I. Today we are a team of 7!
SYDCON STAFF 2016
from left: Garrett, Joseph, Lahar, Joe, Laramie, Jennifer & Dave!
We all have many things to be thankful for, and many reasons behind them. It could be things that are important to you, experiences, people, family or pets. Whatever they are, don't take them for granted and enjoy them when you can. I encourage you take time out of your holiday break and reflect on what you have to be thankful for. From all of us here at SYDCON, we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. May your holiday be happy, relaxing and a time filled with memories. I hope you will take 10 minutes to think about all the things you have to be thankful for. I am always thankful to have had another opportunity this year to write this blog and share it will all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!
