It's been a long (long) time since I've written a Thankful Thursday post. I've missed it. I have so much to be thankful for each and every day, and having this space to write down those things help me focus on them. Recalling the good things in life help make the not-so-good things more manageable. So this week I'm thankful for:
~My healthy babies. My heart broke for blogger Diana Stone when I read that her two week old son didn't pull through. If you aren't familiar with her story, the very short version is that she lost her twins early in her pregnancy last year. (Maybe 20ish weeks.) Her water broke, but she managed to keep them in longer than anyone expected. Eventually she gave birth to them, and lost them. When she got pregnant again with her son, I was thrilled for her. Then he was born, and they discovered he had a heart condition. I sobbed reading the news that he wasn't going to make it. It made me hug my own little ones extra tight.
~Our house. With Dan in the middle of extensive training, we haven't seen him much at all. When I start to get irritated about not seeing him, and the kids are cranky and whiny, and I have to do everything alone, I remind myself that it's all for a good cause. His job is the reason we have our house at all. And the alternative would be living back on the college campus, something I definitely wouldn't want to go back to.
~My 3 week nannying stint. My friend Julie asked me earlier this year to watch her 3 year old daughter for the last three weeks of the summer. I watched her for a year back when our girls were babies, and it was nice to get the opportunity to do it again. It's been a good distraction for the kids, to have something each day to look forward to and to keep busy. It takes their mind off the fact that they haven't seen their Daddy for more than a few hours over the course of two weeks.
~Our very, very limited budget. Ok this one is a stretch. Trying to spin this into a positive isn't easy. But since buying our house we've had to cut many non-essentials. I'm living on a shoe-string, and there are days when I get frustrated because the kids need fall wardrobes, our fridge is bare, and there's no money left in the monthly budget. But, I remind myself that things will get better, and this is a good lesson in being frugal. It's teaching me the difference between wants and needs, something I thought I already knew. But it turns out that a lot of our needs aren't really so necessary and it's amazing the things you can cut out and still lead a happy life.
I hope you all have a happy weekend, and remember to look for the good when times are tough. It's not always easy, but there's usually a silver lining if you look hard enough. What are you thankful for this week?
You have a very positive outlook on life! Living on a budget is SO difficult, but you're right, it does teach you about needs versus wants!
ReplyDeleteI was so sorry to read about Diana Stone's baby. In the midst of everything, I hadn't thought to check to see how he was doing. My heart just breaks for her.