The other day I ranted about the lack of recognition to Thanksgiving in retail America. Christmas decorations have been out for months, and by that I mean I started seeing the ghost of "Christmas is near" on October 1st. Thanksgiving I feel is under-rated
Rather than posting every day what I am thankful for I decided to write a blog about 30 things I am thankful for. So I can look back and remind myself when I have weak moments. We all have weak moments, moments where we forget to appreciate everything we have because having them means responsibility. Having possessions means needing to take care of them, having relationships means finding the time to put into them what you expect to get out of them. Because the thing about life is nothing is free. It all has a price, and while you can look at that as a down side, I chose to remember that the price I pay for everything I have is no where close to the reward I receive from it.
1. I am thankful for a relationship with God. I have not always given that relationship the time and energy it deserves, but I am beyond grateful that He has been there for me to cry to, and answered my prayers so many times. He has blessed me and has on occasion not given me what I asked for because he knew there was something better for me.
2. I am thankful for my husband. He has not always been the man he is today, but I was not always the woman I am now either. He has allowed me to grow with him and he cares for me in every way that a man should care for his wife. He treats me with respect and is honest. He is a fabulous father and a fantastic husband. Without him I would have nothing.
3. I am thankful for my house. It may not be the home of my dreams, but it is a place where I can raise my children, where I can rest safely at night, where I can wake and live daily. And I shall continue to treat it like the house of my dreams until it is replaced with the real deal.
4. I am beyond grateful for my children. Every day as I stare my children in the face I am reminded of a day where a doctor told me that I may not ever have any. They are often a test of my patience and the hardest job I have ever been given, but they are worth every second of it, and the day is made worth while every single time they give me a hug for no reason. Every single time they look me in the face and smile from the center of their souls, letting me know that the love I have for them is returned and that being their mommy is enough.
5. I am thankful for my friends DJ and Katie Marcussen. We met them at the playground and because of their generosity we have been pushed and encouraged in more ways than we could ever count. They have opened up a world to us that allows us to grow and become the people we wanted to be but didn't know how to become. They are true friends and we will never be able to repay what they have given to us.
6. I am grateful for coffee. I know this sounds silly but I love it. My coffee time has been spent in deep concentration, in complete silence, in public while I watch others live their daily lives and with friends. Coffee has been a go to for me for years and has been present in a lot of my relationship building times.
7. I am thankful for my animals. They are occasionally a lot to deal with, and often a source of stress, but more often they have been a companion in my down times, they have been friends to my children and they show love and affection when we all need it.
8. I am thankful for my van. While I swore I would never drive one, it has been good to me this year. Without it driving around would be very uncomfortable, and the dogs would never be able to go. It has allowed me to haul things that I wouldn't be able to otherwise and has simplified my life.
9. I am thankful for my dad. He has been a great parent and has given me my sense of humor and my love of laughing. He taught me to be a good person, he taught me to be honest. he taught me that sometimes doing things that you don't want to do for the ones that you love is more important than doing what you want to do and that they should be done with the same attitude. He taught me to be a good parent and to be a good friend.
10. I am thankful for quality skin care. It is amazing how much spending a little more on your skin can really change how you feel about yourself, and self confidence is extremely important.
11. I am thankful that my days are not always easy. Without rough days I would not be able to appreciate the good ones, or how far I have come.
12. I am thankful for having been through the loss of a baby and depression. Those things are in my past and they have helped shape me. They have given me the knowledge and respect of those going through it, and have given me a way to help them. even if its lending an ear from someone who has been there and the hope that they can get through it.
13. I am thankful for friends that love like family. I have been blessed with a group of friends who would (and have) be there in the blink of an eye when I need something. And in a world full of people who are fine to pretend they are your friends until you need their help, its nice to know that there are people you can depend on.
14. I am thankful for my mom. She has been a great granny to my children and they love her immensely.
15. I am thankful that I got to know my great grand parents. I got to grow up with them at family get togethers and ask the questions that I wanted to ask. I know many people who don't get to grow up with grandparents, let alone great grandparents, and I am proud that my children get to carry on part of their names.
16. I am grateful for my husbands job. It keeps him out late some nights, and it wears him out. But it has provided a way for us to pay our bills and live comfortably.
17. I am thankful for a creative eye. I enjoy creating things, I love crafts and I am blessed with the ability to see things before they come together.
18. I am grateful for vision, because while I am beyond blessed with the things I have in my life, I know that I am meant for more, and I know that I will find my way there.
19. I am grateful for my siblings. Though we may not always see eye to eye, I am happy to have them, and only wish that my brother Christopher were with us.
20. I am thankful to have a child that tests my patience. While my life WOULD be a lot easier and with a lot less yelling if Ellie had a different personality, she stretches me. She teaches me to deal with people who do not see things my way and has shown me that I can not always control my surroundings. She also has strengthened my relationship with God, because without daily prayer to help me deal with her I am not sure I would be doing so well!
21. I am thankful that I was graced with compassion and empathy. I enjoy having a heart for others and believe that it has made me the person that I am.
22. I am grateful that Ian and I have enough that we can give to others. We believe that we are called to share whatever we have, and we do our best to do that on a regular basis.
23. I am grateful for my neighbor Andrea. She has become a very close friend, and I have formed many memories with her in the last 2 years. She has added a lot to my life, and I look forward to the years to come.
24. I am thankful for Pinterest. It makes my life much simpler.
25. I am thankful for rainy days. They provide me with a reason to snuggle my babies and take some time out of busy every day life to appreciate what I have, and reset.
26. I am thankful for music. There is always some sort of music in my house, whether it is on the radio or tv, or us singing to each other.
27. I am thankful for my phone. It helps keep me sane and makes my life a ton easier. It is my personal assistant and the only thing more I could ask from it is to bring my coffee to me in bed in the morning.
28. I am thankful for children's tv shows. they have come a long way from Sesame Street when we were kids, and my children have learned a lot from them.
29.I am grateful for the beauty of nature. I enjoy spending time watching animals play and eat, and I enjoy just watching the world around me.
30. I am thankful that life is forgiving and provides second chances every day. When I am not happy with how the day went, I can start over in the morning. When I gain a pound instead of lose I can do something different tomorrow. When I am not the parent, the wife, the friend, the business owner I know I should be I can be, I can try again. And thanks to that property of life I have grown in each area of my life.
I find it easy to get sucked into the mile long list of things to do, and am working on taking more time to appreciate all that I have, instead of all that I want, because you can't be blessed with more, if you don't see what you already have as a blessing. I think we could all use a little more time reflecting on what we have before we move on to the season of "give me, give me" And in order to extend that in my house we have agreed to not purchase anything for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. We have also agreed that we will be donating to children in a few local hospitals, in addition to the possibility of an Angel Tree child. We are looking forward to the giving season, and now that our children are getting older we are starting to teach them the same.
Happy Thanksgiving!
