There is so much negativity in the world right now, it can feel like being in quicksand sometimes. I am grateful for the invitation to express gratitude for the things that are going right in my own world. Please feel free to click the link above to see the invitation I am accepting and sharing.
Day 1. More time with my Husband.
In October of 2014 my husband was cycling home from work and was hit by a SUV. He was in a medically induced comma for almost a week and the doctors had a hard time waking him up. He spent another three weeks in in-patient rehab. He had a TBI, a shattered femur, a compound fracture in his arm, double vision and couldn't remember why he was in the hospital for more than five minutes.He had many other injuries and side effects from the accident. I was and am grateful that he could remember who I am and who our children are, even if he got their ages wrong after the accident. He had to relearn how to do so many things. He still has bad days occasionally where he doesn't remember things if he is very tired. He had to learn to write things down to remember them, an executive functioning tool he never had to use before the accident. I still need to drive for him occasionally if his brain won´t let him focus or if it is late at night because he permanently lost some of his periphery vision. I am grateful for the gift I have been given of more time with the man I love. He is still a loving man who is kind, a hard worker, an involved father who loves telling dad jokes. I am grateful he was able to relearn how to walk and seeing him remember things almost like he used to at times. I am grateful that I get more time to work on making him laugh, I am terrible at making jokes. I am aware on a personal level that we never know when we can loose the ones we love and more time with my husband is a gift from God I am thankful for.
Day 2. Children who love others.
We have four children and all of them are different from each other. There are some interests that overlap but their personalities are different and distinct. It can be quit challenging to find the time to support each child's diverse interests in a way that each feels our love for them. As a mother I have days occasionally when I am just tired; physically, emotionally and drained spiritually. On those days, I just want to sit down, take a nap, and stop being responsible for a little bit. On days like that how tired I am must show on my face because my only thought at that point is keep going, you can sleep later. My kids will say something like, mom you really look tired. To which I respond with a smile or a smirk, I am always tired, now we need to do ...(fill in the blank). Sometimes on days like this one of them will bring me a flower they pressed in a book for me. Or give me a bear hug and tell me they love me when I don´t think I can handle folding another load of laundry without crying. Another will decide they want to make dinner so I can sit down and rest. And yet at other times one of them will pull out their violin and play something because they know I love hearing them play. I am grateful for children who notice when I need to feel loved and supported and they find something they can do to try to make things better for me. I have also seen them do this with their siblings even though at times I know they drive each other crazy. I am grateful for children who are capable of loving others and who have the courage to do something about it.
Day 3. A God who listens and loves
I remember hearing as I grew up that God in Old Testament times was an angry person. I also remember my shock the first time read through the Old Testament and I noticed how disobedient the ancient Israelites were. God would try to get them to do the right thing and try again and again until eventually He would need to start to implement consequences to help them learn to stop doing whatever they were doing wrong. I saw a patient parent who was trying to help rebellious kids learn to stop making the same mistake. As stupid as I felt they were and as often as I have wondered at how slow they were to learn, I have benefited from that same patience when I have made stupid choices of my own. I am grateful for a Heavenly parent who loves me and listens to me when I talk with Him in prayer. I love the relationship of love.
Day 4. Ancestors
One of my interests is learning about my ancestors. One of the reasons this started when I was young is I was often asked ¨What are you?¨ This started at such a young age I didn't understand what I was being asked at first. I thought other kids or adults couldn't tell I was a girl. I was a Tomboy you see so I thought it was my clothes or because I was often playing sports of some variety or building forts. Later as a teenager I realized I was being asked what my ethnicity was or who my ancestors are. So by the time I was about 11 or 12 years old I started asking my parents and they didn't know much. So I started writing letters to aunts, uncles and grandparents. These aunts and uncles and grandparents had some answers but a lot of it still didn't add up. I kept digging and learning about how to research family trees. Finally in my 30ś some of my family members and I took DNA tests. The results lead me down completely different research avenues. I very quickly found a paper trail that matched the DNA. Now I have answers that make so much more sense than what I was given as a kid. I am very blessed to have ancestors from all over the world. It is this diversity that causes people I meet to not be able to neatly put me into an ethnicity category. I am grateful that my ancestors, for generations, broke with social norms and married people who were different than them. It is a great legacy of diversity that they have passed down to me and our children. I have been enjoying learning about them and from them. I have a chance to learn from so many cultures and take the good from my ancestors that they offer.
Day 5. Art
I am grateful for the ability to create things of beauty. To learn from others who create beauty. To have the chance to explore the balance between creating something functional that also beautifies my world. I also enjoy the opportunity to create things that have no other function but to be beautiful and lift the spirits of others. There are so many things that are hard and ugly in this world that bring it down. I love that art has the potential to lift others out of that darkness. I love that art can give artists a way to express what is inside them and a viewer can look at that art and be touched by what that artist is saying.
Day 6. Health
I have been sick the last few days and I am feeling grateful that what I am feeling is a mild cold. So many have lost their lives to Covid19. I have been watching on the news as so many have died. Right now in our country we have lost a third of the lives that we did in the Civil War to Covid19. In the world more people have died than in our Civil War. So many lives lost. I keep hoping it will stop and yet all I see is it getting worse. So I am grateful that all I am dealing with is a cold.
Day 7. Gardening
I love planting seeds and watching them grow. I enjoy the anticipation of waiting and watching for the seeds to sprout every day. I enjoy watching the plant grow and change as it matures. I like the satisfaction of adding in supports and clearing weeds so that the plant can grow well. To be clear I do get annoyed by weeds but I enjoy ripping them out by the roots so that the plant I want to grow is healthier. With so much of what I need to get done as a mother and wife that requires I stay inside to get things done I enjoy the time outside in the sun and fresh air. Time spent gardening feels like a luxury in my life.
