Week 3 Grateful
Day 13:
I am grateful for a few different things in this photo. The story: Bryce decided that his airplane he named "child" was hungry and needed to eat. You see, airplanes aren't just toys, but family members in our house. While I was getting the baby ready, Bryce went to the fridge and grabbed a block of cheese for him. I later found this on the couch. I am grateful for my son's imagination, for the way he wants to take care of other people/things (most of the time), and for these images that I can't help but smile at when I walk by and notice it for the first time. I'm also grateful that we are financially stable enough and live in a time and place where it isn't an issue at all if my son grabs cheese out of the fridge (which did go bad) to feed to his toy airplane.
Day 14:
I am grateful for REST DAYS! As much as I love running and keeping a solid workout routine every day, I still fully enjoy rest days to recharge before more workout days. I especially enjoy when a rest day falls on a day like this, when I wouldn't really want to be out running anyway.
Day 15:
I am grateful every day that I come home from working out to a sweet 4 year old who says, "How was your workout today Mommy? Are you getting stronger?" (or "How was your run?"). As much as I love that he cares to ask, I am mostly grateful that I can teach him the importance of a lifestyle of staying active, healthy, and disciplined.
Day 16:
No I am not grateful for the piles and piles..and piles of laundry, nor am I grateful for the added time two boys put on this chore. What I am grateful for today is the silliness these boys show in every task, and the images I get to capture; images that may not help in the middle of the chaos and stress now, yet images that will warm my heart many many years from now!
Day 17:
I am grateful for random fun dance parties with the boys. It seems silly to be grateful for something like that, but this is very important in my life right now, because this moment gave me one simple, yet overwhelming thought: "I am happy". The thing is, this Mommy wasn't always happy and fun ("fun" is still debatable). I struggled so deeply with postpartum depression (and really I still very much struggle off and on with depression and anxiety). There was a time, when Bryce was younger, when I wouldn't do anything close to a dance party with him. I wasn't smiling while listening to music, dancing just to have fun, getting on the floor to play with him often, or showing him how to love the little things in life (because I didn't feel any love for the little things in life at that time). I merely struggled to get through the day in one piece. I can't even describe how dark that time felt. Now, there is this today (and many, MANY days): smiling, laughing, loving, and dancing like crazy to fun songs in the kitchen. Just. For. Fun. Just because we are happy. Mommy is HAPPY.
Day 18:
I am grateful for the running community. There are only a couple of other times in life I've felt the community connection and support as I have when I became a runner.
Thousands of people ran today, all over the country, in honor of Meg Menzies. Meg was a wife, a mother of 3 young kids, and an avid runner who lost her life when she was hit by a drunk driver during her morning run (you can read the story here). The running community stood up to support the family by sending their love through running their own miles and posting their thoughts and prayers on multiple social media sites. This makes me feel so connected to the community and proud to be a runner.
I also went beyond my comfort zone and ran with a group in an organized run today. I haven't experienced that and I am so glad I did it. It was fun, challenging, and again I got to feel that amazing running community connection! (plus those post-run doughnuts were seriously amazing...)
Day 19:
I am grateful for coffee.
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| In my favorite mug from Batton Clayworks |
(I love the simple grateful to end the week after Day 17 and 18 were a bit deeper. It's absolutely important to be grateful for the super little things as well.)
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