Editor’s note: Research results strongly suggest that “a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.” Translation: Gratitude is good for you. It can help curb depression; improve sleep, blood pressure, and your cholesterol levels; encourage your exercise habits; nudge you toward a healthier diet; and boost your productivity. Besides, it just feels good.
We surveyed our own company members, asking what they might be thankful for in this season of thankfulness, and we got answers ranging from thoughtful to funny. Many of us are grateful for our jobs (Act-On is a great place to work) but the bottom line for us all turns out to (still) be people and warmth and consideration.Here’s what a few of our people said:
- I am thankful that God has blessed me with family…
- For my 92-year-old mother, who teaches yoga, swims a mile in the ocean each day and continues to be an inspiration to me.
- For my husband, who calls me beautiful when I need it the most and for his smile that I look forward to each morning when I wake up.
- For my little boy, who grew up to be a kind and caring man, centered and grounded in his life.
- For my grandchildren, who take me into their world and let me see it in a wondrous way.
And for my Act-On family, whom I happily spend my days with. I continue to be amazed at their generosity, caring and talent. Helping and encouraging me to be the best me I can be.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Linda Uli, Manager, Learning & Development; San Mateo
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I am thankful for my team leaders who allowed me the opportunity to work remotely and stay at Act-On! I am SO thankful that my fiancé and his entire crew were safe while fighting fires across the country all summer. I am thankful for my two dogs who never leave my side. And lastly I’m SUPER thankful that I get to live in the most gorgeous city in the country and that this is my view every night!
Ashley Fowler, Professional Services Project Manager; Beaverton
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I want to say thanks for everyone who has been an influencer in my life for helping me shape up to what I am today and want to take this opportunity to also thank the dear departed who have also wished the best for us! THANK YOU!
Sameer Rao, Customer Success Manager; Roseville
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I am thankful for life! It’s something I don’t always think about. But I am thankful to be able to wake up refreshed every day to a strong husband (going on 10 years married) and two lively children (they make me smile every day). I am thankful for Starbucks dates with my son, being my daughter’s real-life baby doll and letting her style my hair however – and walking through life with my best friend, my hubby! Life is too short to sweat the small things in life and believe it or not, they are all small things!
Jillian Rachel, People & Office Coordinator; Beaverton
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I am thankful for God, my family, and enough life experience to know that things will always work out the way they should…even if it doesn’t look the way I thought it would.
Stephanie Macon, Regional Sales Manager; San Mateo
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I’m thankful for my Steam library.
?
Mikki Garcia, Quality Assurance Engineer; Beaverton
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Thankful for working in an industry that never ceases to amaze – the evolution is rapid, the innovation profound, and the challenge we are solving is real. From one marketer to another – thank you for contributing to the discipline and elevating the role of the marketer as we know it.
Paige Musto, Director, Communications; San Mateo
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Living a life of gratitude isn’t easy, but each day I strive to do better.
Shine Lyui, Deliverability Services Analyst; Beaverton
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Top 5 Things I’m Thankful For:
- That my 14 year old finally discovered showering (now that he’s 15);
- That my daughter is still in college;
- That I pretty well have the best boss in the company;
- That my standard smart-@ssery hasn’t gotten me fired yet (see #3);
and the number 1 thing I’m thankful for this year:
That I still enjoy coming to work every day, thanks to the slew of awesome Actonians I get to work with! (But I like my days off too!)
Alicia Norgaar Castorina, Sales Operations Specialist; Roseville
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I am thankful for my God, my family and my friends. When the world gets crazy, I am thankful that I have those around me who love me. I wish everyone a blessed holiday season and may God keep you all safe in His loving arms. Cheers!
Jen Machgan, Senior Manager, Partner Marketing; Roseville
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I’m thankful for…
- My sweet daughter who never ceases to amaze me with her creativity, energy and endless depths of love. I hope she never stops being excited by rainbows, unicorns and fairies.
- My son who is smart, caring, loyal and accepting of everyone for who they are. I am so proud of the man he is turning into.
- My husband who has put up with me for more than 20 years of marriage and doesn’t complain if I wake up at 3am and need to read my book in bed to fall back asleep.
- My mother who is the heartbeat of our house and keeps everything running so I look like a much more organized person than I am.
- Our new puppy who is always happy to see me when I get home and is inseparable from my daughter. Seeing them together is true love at the purest level.
I am blessed!
Tanya Hyde, Director, Professional Services; Beaverton
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I’m thankful for my beautiful family, wonderful friends, new conversations/opportunities and the time to enjoy it all. Though there could always be more of that 🙂 It’s the connections with others that really make this life so rewarding.
Michael Owsley, Product Marketing Specialist; Roseville
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My family – They are loving, funny, smart, kind, and there
My friends – We share joy and sadness, make priceless memories, and lift each other up
Food, clothing & shelter – I never want to forget to be grateful for these basic elements
My job – I get to write for a living and work with some very nice, bright people
My life – What an honor to get to take this journey, with a fresh start every 24 hours, a glorious sunset each evening, and endless opportunities for creativity and wonder.
Angela Meadows, Content Writer & Strategist, Sales Acceleration; Roseville
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In addition to toilet paper, water, and my husband…I am grateful for the ability to walk up the stairs to the second floor of Act-On, because last year I had to take the elevator due to severe back issues. I am also thankful for the opportunity to grow in a new role within a different department at Act-On – which includes a fully supportive manager, amazingly talented team members to work with every single day, and donuts on Fridays! Love this company!
Arie Maciel, Project Coordinator, Professional Services; Roseville
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I am grateful for …
- Holding a salmon, being part of its journey and watching it swim away.
- Blending families – it’s hard and there are tears, but there are also adventures, laughter and many, many memories.
- My animals – three cats, a fish and a dog. The black furry one that sleeps on my head, the orange tabby who meows in my ear, the tuxedo who hides, but loves to see you and the black Lab that chews up all of my favorite things and still lives to see tomorrow. Then there’s the fish who barely has any water, because the cats drink it… all 80 degrees of it.
- My job! I really enjoy my job and I love my coworkers. It’s the best group I’ve ever worked with. And there’s always chocolate in the kitchen 😉
Alyssa Gillespie, AR Specialist; Beaverton
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Oh, the things I am thankful for. They are not perhaps what one might consider traditional, but to me, ahhhh to me… they are everything.
I am thankful for spiders. They show me what a wonderful, caring, kind, fearless, generous, loving man I have who will come running, day or night, at a moment’s notice when I unleash that familiar blood-curdling scream. He always knows why and never makes me wait, and for that he is also very smart.
I am thankful for the shows Homeland and Survivor. Because they are two precious hours of time that my beautiful, smart, talented, funny, hard-working, and very social 16 year old daughter will spend, uninterrupted, with me. She might not even have her phone in her hand.
I am thankful for Febreeze and other such odor-eating products. They make my amazing, cuddly, kind, smart, athletic, yet pubescent 14 year old son’s room bearable for my nostrils. This allows me to, with regular occasion, sit and chat with him on his bed or scratch his back.
I am thankful that my dad snored like a chainsaw. This was brought up several months ago although I believe I have been complaining about it and annoying him with snoring jokes since I was a kid. Now, his new nightly companion, the c-pap, will undoubtedly add many more years to his life so I can continue to annoy him about other things.
I am thankful for my dog’s irreverent hair, and her death-by-destruction tail. This hair sneakily shows up on my bed each day when she clearly knows she is not to trespass there. She misses me so much when I am gone that she risks shame and my angry face just to be closer to ‘me’ when I am away. I am also thankful for her frantic, rump shaking, violently whipping, “I’m-so-happy-to-see-you-you’ve-been-gone-forever!” tail that annihilates everything in its path every time I come in the door. Even if I just went out for literally 15 seconds to get the mail.
I am thankful for loneliness and sadness. I can recall times when I was both sad and lonely and for that I am so grateful. Today I have the gift of these wonderful souls in my life. I am always grateful that loneliness and sadness were once my unwanted companions because I can so much better appreciate the love and happiness I am now fortunate enough to experience.
So there.
Karrie Sundbom, Content Marketing Manager; Beaverton
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I give thanks first for my family (my sons, their sons, my husband; his daughter and son; our wonderful extended human family, especially OJ, Joselyn, Tylisha and Tyrone; our animal family: three turtles, six birds, two cats, four fish, one guinea pig and one rabbit); and second, for all the artists who produce all the art that teaches us a little more about how to be human. Thanks to Oscar (Hammerstein II) and Richard (Rodgers) for songs like this one:
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things…
And thanks to you, for reading this blog.
Sherry Lamoreaux, Senior Editor; Beaverton
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