So. In no particular order:
1. I'm SO SO SO grateful for a temporary reprieve from worry. I've worried about money every day of my adult life, and while we're certainly not *rich* right now, we also both have relatively new jobs that give us more than just what we need. I'm grateful to not be living paycheck to paycheck, to be able to pay off debts faster and to save for the things that are most important to us, and to help our families a little more even if it's not very much. I'm even MORE grateful for the reprieve from hospitals. For those of you who don't know, my niece is severely epileptic. I worry about her almost constantly anyway, but the week we were in Boston (was that really just last week?), she was in the ER three different nights because her newest medication cocktail wasn't working well and CPR had to be done just to keep her breathing at night through several grand mal seizures. The poor thing--and her poor mother!!! I am grateful that, at least for now, things have quieted down. She is no longer sick and pale-looking and she is able to get something resembling sleep at night. SO grateful to have her with us still--there have been more close calls lately than I'm comfortable with! I still worry about her, of course, but not to the same degree at the moment. I'll take it!
2. I'm thankful for a clean and organized home. Sometimes it isn't *as* clean as it should be, especially with less time to keep it all up. But with a few days off earlier this week I was able to really scrub down everything and make it comfortable. I've learned more and more (through subbing and just observation) how affected I am, emotionally and physically, by the physical space I'm in. I am so much more at peace when the dishes are done, the house is orderly, there's lots of space and natural light, and I can breathe deeply and more fully focus on other, more important things--like the people I'm with. I just have to remind myself of that when I want to do anything BUT actually clean. :)
3. I'm grateful for a good story. I love to read, and Paul and I love watching movies and TV shows together. I am constantly amazed at the funny, quirky characters that I become so ridiculously invested in. And just when I think it's all been done, someone comes along with something new...there's not much that gets my heart pumping or my mind spinning like a good plot with solid, fun characters. :)
4. I'm always thankful for my husband, but these last two weeks I've been especially grateful for him. It's great to be married to your best friend. It's nice to have someone to talk and laugh with, to go through things with, to help you make decisions, to push you a little beyond your comfort zone at times, and to learn to be patient with. And lately I just want to kiss him an extra time or two every day. :) I wish I could just take him everywhere I go. We're still working on making our marriage everything we want it to be, but we've come leaps and bounds already and we've got eternity to go, so I think we'll be all right. :) And who but a loving husband will go out and buy you Thai food when you're sick and can't stomach anything else?
5. I'm thankful for my serious side. I was born pretty serious, and even as a kid my parents say I sort of raised myself, punished myself more than they ever would have, held myself to high standards, and just sort of preferred *real* conversation with adults over playing with other kids. I'm a realist--not too good at whimsy or romance. I plan everything through, sometimes to a fault because of my high expectations. I hate this part of myself, usually. I have only recently started to understand and accept that it is who I am, and that being "serious" isn't the same as being "depressed" (though I struggle with both...but these have become fuzzy in my mind to the point that they seem the same when they're really not). I may not be as quick to laughter as I want to be, and sometimes this serious, forward-thinking nature gets in the way of my enjoying the "now," but I know it's also a blessing and an asset to be able to think through my actions before I do them or to be the kind of person people can come to with problems and know that I can help bring them peace and calm. To have anticipated just about everything so that not much surprises me. Sometimes this feels more like a burden than a blessing, but I think that's only because of things other people have said to me or ways I compare myself to others. My serious nature makes me sincere, and trustworthy, and pensive. It's a gift of my own and I've just got to learn to control it better, that's all. And it's a BIG part of me, so I'd better *learn* to be grateful for it or I'm basically hating on myself for no good reason!
What are YOU grateful for THIS WEEK?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving some love!