Thankful

When I get down to it, I have more to be thankful for than I could ever begin to name. I love Thanksgiving, if only for the fact that it is a time where we are reminded to have gratitude for all that we are blessed with. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I have blinders on, and I only see how blessed I am when I am compelled to look for it. I hope that changes and I learn to live a life of gratitude every day.


Here are a few things that I have been grateful for lately. Some are obscure, some more obvious, but for some reason, these particular blessings have been calling out to me lately:

- I am thankful that my laptop broke. It cost me $300ish bucks to fix, but it made me realize how much time I WASTE staring at a computer screen when I could be playing with my kids or building a snowman or, yes, even cleaning the house and tackling my own personal kryptonite, the laundry pile. I was supermom without my laptop to distract me. Hopefully I can find more balance now that it is working again :)

- I am thankful that I have to work for things. Cam and I have developed so many new talents and skills simply because we can't afford to just buy things the way we want them. And you know what? It's more fun that way. I actually had fun learning how to put in new floors, paint, tile, and find other creative ways to fix up our fixer-upper. I love painting and refinishing old furniture. I love attempting to sew things, and then watching Cameron take over and wow me with his amazing skills. It is empowering to develop our talents, because the one thing that we can't lose in this life is our knowledge. I don't know if I would be a very interesting person if I could afford all of those things that I want.

- I am thankful that Cameron has a job that is five minutes from our house, with a great company. I am thankful that I have a job I can do from home, without having to put my kids in daycare all day.

- I am thankful for my education. So often, I think we take credit for our intelligence, but so much of that is just because we were lucky. My mom didn't do drugs when she was pregnant with me. My parents read to me when I was a child, and took the time to teach me simple concepts, and nurture my mind. I had the priviledge of attending school and not having to drop out to help my family pay bills. I was even blessed to have parents that helped me pay for my college. Thanks Mom and Dad! And, I live in a country and era where a woman's education is considered just as relevant as a man's. I'm so lucky.

- I am thankful that I can google almost any question and find answers. For free! Thanks google.

- I am grateful that I have a faith in a higher power. It is an endless journey of questions with a few answers scattered here and there, but I have never been disappointed in the journey.

-  I'm thankful that I have a marriage that works and that by some fluke I found my prince. I was pretty sure I'd never find someone who could put up with me, and every day I am grateful that Cameron not only tolerates me, he loves me, for some dumb reason. :)

- I love waking up in the morning and finding that somehow, the entire family has made their way into our bed. There is nothing sweeter than seeing Cam and the kids all warm and snuggled up, at peace. Can't wait to see how we fit five people onto our bed. Good thing it's a king.

- I'm grateful for all of those humbling, palm to forehead moments where I realize that I am, in fact, not the queen of the universe, and no, I don't have all of the answers. I have lots of those moments. They make me laugh. And cry. But mostly they make me more compassionate, forgiving, and hopefully, wiser.

- I'm grateful for a toilet that works! It was leaking and we had to go a day without it. Which made me really appreciate all of those other days when it was working. Modern plumbing is awesome!

- I am grateful for my kids. They drive me nuts and teach me so much. Being a parent is... amazingly insightful. And humbling. And challenging. And wonderful. and FUN! It really can't be described, it has to be experienced.

I am also grateful for this new life on the horizon- can't wait to hold our little boy in my arms and smell his sweet new baby smell. I'm so excited.

What are you grateful for? I really love hearing these things. Please share.