Gratitude.

With the new year here and all that this wonderful end of the year holiday season brings with it, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I am grateful for in my life.

Life is hectic, complex, and ever changing. Because of that, we often forget to be thankful for the life we live and the many different aspects of it. It’s sometimes hard to be thankful for the job that stresses us out or the husband who doesn’t bring everything on the list from the trip to the store... even when we took the time to write a list! However, if we take the time to really look within we would realize that we are indeed grateful for both and for many other aspects of our beautiful lives. We would hate to lose our jobs, just as well as we probably can’t imagine our lives without our significant others. But in this complicated life it is easy to forget. So, this post is about reminding myself and all of you who read this that it is our responsibility, our duty, to tune into those feelings of gratitude. It’s up to us. Being grateful brings us blessings, so I’m going to begin this year’s blogs by sharing what I am grateful for and hope that I inspire you to do the same. If you begin thinking about what you’re grateful for, I encourage you to write them down so you can remind yourself those times when you forget.

Motherhood. I’m ever so grateful for my kids. Not for any cheesy, clichéd reason, but because they allow me to feel a love that humbles me. My dad once said to me that I wouldn’t understand how much he loves me until I had my own children and I know exactly why he said that. A parents love runs so deep that it awakens you like nothing else. I’m grateful for those feelings because they shape me, inspire me, and move me in ways that nothing else does.  

Work. I’m grateful for the ability to be creative at work. As a teacher, most of the time I feel overwhelmed and not appreciated. It’s a challenging profession: mentally, physically, and spiritually draining. On many days I feel beat up, but I am grateful that as a creative I have a profession where I create opportunities for learning from scratch. I design, I write, and I develop ideas for a living.  In addition, I get to share that with the future of this world.  That’s pretty amazing.  

Family. I’m grateful for them because of the comfort they provide. The sense of tradition and the reminder that they loved me before anyone else ever did.  It warms my heart to think of young Mercy and the love my family provided.  It’s beautiful and this holiday season made this so much more evident, as I watched my children bond with their cousins and do the same things I did with mine a quarter of a century ago.  

Friends. I’m grateful for my angels. My friends save me. They hear me. They provide. I’m grateful for knowing that we can form our own families with special people. My friends teach me. They carry me.  This type of love shows me that sometimes you meet great people that change your life forever.  

Lessons.  I’m grateful for learning and I often learn from messing up.  I’m grateful for the mistakes, the ugly parts of life, the growth, the healing.  I’m grateful that I overcame obstacles.  It gives me character, and self affirmation.

Love.  I’ve been so selfish that being in love has never come easy.  True love is selfless, compromising, forgiving, and most of all, work.  I always loved myself so much that it was conflicting to do that for anyone else.  I’m grateful I have grown as a person and that I am now capable of real love.  The type of love that is work, but that is good work.  And I’m grateful that the person I love deserves it.  I guess it is true what people say: “They get better when you do".  

A place to call home.  I’m grateful that I have a warm and safe place to sleep in every night.  A place that I can have my friends and family over for game night, and play dates for my children. A place that feels comfortable and contributes to my family’s mental health and stability.  It may not be the fancy white house with blue shutters, but its warm and full of love.  

Health.  This one is evident. I’m grateful that I’m healthy and strong.  Health is our top priority, but we hardly think about it other than when it’s time to see a doctor.  I’m grateful that as a woman I was healthy enough to bear children, that I’m healthy enough to work, and healthy enough to live a normal life.  

So, tell me, What are you grateful for?