7 Days of Gratitude: Week 3

Ok folks! So I started this the night before Thanksgiving and did not get it done. So I’m adding this disclaimer so I don’t need to rewrite the beginning. And I’m super tired with a huge list of things to do. Yes, I’m being lazy about this and I don’t care too much about it. 🙂

Tomorrow is THANKSGIVING!!! Yes!! If you can not tell I’m a bit excited. I love this holiday full of gratitude. And of course food. Oh the yummy food. We will get to that later. If you have missed my first two weeks in my 7 Days of Gratitude series you can read them here and here.

Body

Like most any women I can be pretty hard on my body. It is very easy to think of all the negative things about it, all the things I wish I could do but can’t. Today I’m going to think of all the things I’m grateful for about my body. 🙂

I played volleyball for years in high school and college. I was not easy on my body. I had a coach for awhile that “taught” me to play through the pain. And so I did, many times. I pushed my body so hard and my body held up well. I’m just paying for it now, haha!

Babies! I feel I could end it at that. 🙂 I have carried 4 babies in 4 different pregnancies. I birthed 4 babies without medication. I nursed 3 babies for at least a year and going strong at 10 months with baby number 4. I tell you what, my body is a rock star! And so is your body!

My body allows me to work it hard, be lazy, not give it the best food or sleep. It may get tired, have aches and pains. But it still goes and moves and keeps working.

Food

I don’t know about you but I love to eat. Food is amazing. There are so many flavors, textures, and combinations. I am also grateful that my family and I have enough for our needs and we can share what we have. I hate wasted food. It can make me stress out and anxious. I am consistently trying to get my little kiddos to understand we eat what we have and to not throw it away. We all have some room to improve. What are some of your favorite foods?

Electricity

The other day in our city there was a small power outage. It was planned but I had forgotten about it. It was cooler in our house so I planned to run an errand that was about 30 minutes away. We took our time and by the time we got home we were going to have 3 more hours of no electricity.

It was lunch time and all we wanted to eat we needed to warm up but couldn’t. I was starting to really miss my microwave and to be so much more grateful for it and electricity. And guess what?! The power came back on and we could eat our left overs.

I’m so grateful for electricity to power our lights, heat our homes, cool or food, and so much more.

Books

I love books! My favorite is children books. First grade teacher for nine years here! I don’t like to buy chapter books because I don’t love rereading them. But, picture books…that’s a whole different story. If I walk past books I sometimes have to hold my hand up to my eyes so I can’t see them. Haha! I could spend so much time reading and buying books. We seem to have books coming out of our ears around here.

Books are amazing because you can learn from them, become someone else through them, experience so many things while reading them, and the list goes on. There are so many books that you will never be able to read them all. You get to keep having so many different experiences because there are so many books.

While I love to read, I don’t do it nearly enough. I am an all or nothing girl when it comes to reading. I get into books easily and have a hard time stopping when I get started. I will read into the wee hours of the night. I have been known to not give my kiddos enough attention. Some of the last few books I’ve read I read in one day.

Friends

I must be one of the luckiest gals around. I have many wonderful friends. I have friends that pick me up in so many ways. I have friends that will drop what they are doing to help me out if/when I reach out to them. We laugh, cry, vent, be silly, or sit in silence together. They help me more then I can express.

I have a few amazing circle of friends that make my life so much better and happier. High school (elementary school), college, neighborhood friends, and everyone in between you know who you are. I want you to know I love you all and appreciate you all so much!

Health

As much as I complain (sorry Eddy) about my body; the aches, pains, extra fat, migraines, or anything else; I’m blessed. My body is blessed. And I can do so much. I may get frustrated that I can’t exercise how I’d like to but I need to remember that my body is still not back to being my own while I’m finishing nursing my baby.

The other part to health is mental health. I’m not at the point where I can say I’m grateful for my depression and anxiety. Maybe I’ll never get there. What I am grateful for is the fact that I’m getting help. I’m doing more for me. I have a great support team. I’m not suffering in silence and praying it will go away.

I have owned up to my illness and getting the treatment I need to improve. I’m grateful for the courage I’ve had to shout it out from my corner of the internet that I have depression and anxiety.

Holidays

It is so much fun to have a reason to celebrate, eat food, gather with family and friends. Holidays is a great excuse to do just that. It is also a great time to have traditions. I’m a sucker for traditions and trying to make holidays super exciting for my kids. I also love to focus on the true meaning of these holidays.

Thank you for following me along this mini serious of gratitude. I hope it has been helpful for you to remember some of the “small” things that we sometimes take for granted or forget to be grateful for. I’m grateful for each and everyone of you that is reading this. Thanks for your support!!

Xoxo

Steph