Gratitude Post 1

This week, members of my church were challenged to share one thing they are grateful for each day on social media. Well, lately I've really been feeling like I need a creative outlet. My intention has been to resurrect this blog and just spend some time writing, and this is the perfect time and opportunity to do it. 

So, what am I grateful for? This might sound cheesy or artificially academic, but I'm grateful for leaders, friends, and family that honor and celebrate the concept of gratitude. I'm not sure that really makes sense, so let me try to explain. 

Sometimes it's easy in life to be grateful, and sometimes it's not. Maybe this year is one of the years where it's been difficult to be grateful. Pandemic, anyone? 

We've been lucky to not be drastically impacted by Covid, and I hope not to minimize any of the issues that others have faced this year when I say that. But I can't say that we've come through totally unscathed. Brynn really, really, really needs to make friends. After moving 16 months ago, she STILL brings up all the friends she had in Florida. I miss playgroups and I miss talking with other moms and I miss Brynn being able to play with other kids in a totally unstructured way. If you can't tell, my kids have been driving me crazy lately, and being trapped in the house while having basically zero alone time has been hard for me. 

And that's why I needed so badly to be reminded that gratitude is important. And guess what? Gratitude is important even when it's hard. Gratitude is ESPECIALLY important even when it's hard. I'm grateful that my children are healthy. That's something I can never take for granted. I'm grateful that my home is safe and Greg's job is flexible. I'm grateful that we have still had some adventures this year, like going to Sedona and Bryce Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. I'm grateful that Brynn is still able to go to a few hours of preschool every week. I'm grateful that she is learning to read, and that I can be the one to teach her. Those lessons are treasures to me. 

So, all in all, I'm grateful that I can still feel gratitude, and I'm grateful that I can ALWAYS feel gratitude. I hope that blogging about that this week will help me to make this challenge authentic and personal, instead of just something I do thoughtlessly because I was asked to (not judging anyone here at all--I just know what I personally need to get out of this moment in time right now and I'm trying to be smart about the work I need to do in order to accomplish that). 

So here's to Thanksgiving, and here's to challenges that make us stronger. Stronger, and more grateful.