Thanksgiving Thanks

It's no secret that my family has been going through tough times. But we are not different than any family. Everyone experiences ups and downs.

Something that I am finding out is that these tough times are changing my ways, my thinking, my attitudes. Changing them forever.

I have become so much more thankful than I used to be. Things that I used to take for granted have become daily blessings. It is surprising actually that I had so much and never noticed. Now that so much is gone, I'm more grateful for the little things.

So to say my thanks and spread the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to share my new found blessings I give thanks for.

1. I am thankful that my alarm goes off at 5 a.m. in the morning so that I can head out for a dawn run. I see the sunrise and smell early morning a few times a week, and that's something many people miss.

2. I am thankful that I can only run three or four miles during the week because I have to rush back to get ready for work. My job used to be something that tied me down, but now it is everything that allows me to provide for my family.

3. I am thankful for my community. There are people who I barely know who have come forward, in amazing ways, to offer help, assistance and support. It humbles me, and it makes me want to be a better person.

4. I am thankful for the little voices and pitter-patter of feet that wake me up on the few days I have the luxury of sleeping in. They are my children, my reason behind any action, my heart.

5. I am thankful for my health. I can run, jump, play and swim with my family.

6. I am thankful for the roof over my head. With its old electrical system and its leaky roof, it keeps us warm at night and provides shelter, which unfortunately, some people do not have.

7. I am thankful for my family. While family can be such a source of headache and drama, my family has circled around us, supported us during our worse times.

8. I am thankful for my hubby. We don’t always get along, and we don’t always agree, but I am most thankful that in our toughest times we have one another to lean on. I have a person who will always be on my team through thick and thin.

Regardless of situation or circumstance, it is the start of the season of giving thanks and spreading joy. Joy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and I am so grateful that my vision is clear.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

Wordless Wednesday

Instead of the blog hop today, I would like to end this month with the one thing that I am most thankful for.

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Giving Thanks Week 4

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Although this is normally my Lazy Sunday post, I decided that what better day to give my last week of thanks than on the day that inspired it all!  When I think about how much my life has changed since Stella was born, I think back to all of the things that have helped me along the way to being a haute mom.  I have given thanks to my friends, my family, and to the roof I have over my head.  As I look at all that I have, there is one more group of people that I would like to thank.

I am thankful for my fellow mommies.  By fellow mommies I mean my other mommy friends old and new and I also mean all of you out there who I have never met.  Some of the kindest words and notes of support have come through on this blog, from others that I do not know.  I look forward to seeing many of your comments and your supportive cheering from the sidelines.  It often overwhelms me how many of you are faithful readers and have become mentors to me through a simple thing as a blog.  I have made wonderful contacts with many of you even though you are on the East Coast, and some as far as Canada!

When I started this blog, so many of you stepped forward and have blessed me by giving me awards, and featuring me on your own blogs.  With something that started off simply as a journal of my experiences, I found the best support through strangers where the only link we have is blogging and mommyhood.  The power of being a mommy never fails to amaze me, and the network of bloggers has done the same.

I dedicate this post to all of you, whether I know you or not, who have unselfishly given me five minutes of your time to write words of encouragement.  I especially thank all of you who visit me regularly and who make me smile when I see a comment from you on one of my posts.  You have provided support and made me laugh during the hardest of times, and continue to do so.  Know that you have touched the life of a stranger all the way in sunny California just for reaching out.  For this I am thankful. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you...from my family to yours.

Lazy Sunday ~ Giving Thanks Week 3

On this truly lazy Sunday (I am still in my pajamas), I am reflecting on my week and trying to put it into perspective. There have been a lot of stressful things that have happened, where at times, I have not felt thankful for anything. I have found myself upset, defeated, frustrated, and alone. I wondered all week what I was going to write today. This is a far cry from last week when I had a million things I was thankful for.

Like always, things happen for a reason. There always seems to be things that come along at the right time to give a little sign that life isn't so bad. This happened twice this week and has helped me get back to being thankful once again.

I was invited to a fundraising event for an organization called Children Today. My friend from college invited me at the last minute, and my husband and I were able to donate a gift basket from our sporting goods store to auction off for the cause. I almost didn't go, but decided a few hours of adult time may be just what the doctor ordered. At the event, I learned more about what Children Today does. They offer child care and preschool to homeless children. I found myself donating money to give a child a birthday party, and buying books to give to the children in their program. This was heartbreaking and that evening, I found myself getting choked up. I could not imagine being in a situation where I could not provide food, shelter, and needs for my child.

Another friend of mine from college, and a fellow blogger, invited me to a blogging event yesterday for Nintendo Wii and the American Heart Association. The lunch happened to have a guest speaker on Asset Based Thinking. While I am reserving the details for a post dedicated to this event, I must say that the main message here was to change the way we thought about our problems. The speaker encouraged us to think positively about our problems and look at them as opportunites instead of negative things that weigh us down. Sounds like a little poke in the ribs from the highers that be, doesn't it?

So today, I am simply going to be thankful for what I have. I may run the risk of sounding materialistic but stick with me. I am thankful I own my home and it provides a roof for my family. I will always and forever want a bigger house but I need to stop and just be thankful that I have a home that I own. I am thankful that I have a job to go back to and that I am not in the group of the thousands of people that have found themselves out of work. I am thankful that I have enough money to buy basic necessities for my family. Money is one of those things that everyone feels like they always need more of, but I can buy food, diapers, clothing, and pay my bills. For that I am thankful.

In a time of difficulty right now, where I am personally struggling with many things in my life, I know that I am more fortunate than many. I have a healthy family (week 1), am surrounded by amazing friends (week 2), and have the basic necessities in life that so many of us take forgranted, and that so many in this country struggle for. This haute mom has had her smack in the face for the week and has been reminded that things could always be worse and when looking at things from a different perspective, I need to be truly thankful for the simple things.

Thank you to Masy Bunnell and Lisa Robertson for your invitations that have allowed me to be thankful for what I have.

I think I learned
to appreciate and treasure each day,
because you don't know
how many you're going to be given.
US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

When I started counting my blessings,
my whole life turned around.
Willie Nelson

Lazy Sunday ~ Giving Thanks Week 2

I have the chance to write this post in the blessed silence of an early Sunday morning. I have a good friend at work who used to describe these morning too me, explaining that she used to tip-toe downstairs at 5 a.m. to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee before work, using every muscle possible to control her movements so that she doesn't make a sound. For she knew that even the slighest creak would wake a child, husband, dog, which would then wake another, crashing down into a domino effect of craziness. I never fully understood this, until now.

Today, I am thankful for friends. I know this seems kind of generic but this post is for a certain category of friends. Not the friends who are there for convenience, the ones who only call or come around when they need something or when there is nothing better to do. Not the friends who are one-sided, those who never call you or invite you places, but instead do nothing for your friendship until you reach out to them. And not those who I like to call "frenemies", the ones who use you to gain some advantage, use your ideas, or talk about you behind your back. I am thankful for true friends, the ones that are so special that they can part the clouds on a rainy day.

As I have gotten older, I have learned about all these different types of friends, some the hard way. Gone are the days when I traveled with an entourage, where only one or two in company was a true friend. I have experienced drama, backstabbing, let downs, stolen dreams, and people hanging on to my coat tails and learned that some people never change and it is best to let them go. As I think about my true friends, I realize that part of getting older means that people get let behind, sometimes for good reason.

My friends now are the ones who I know will be here for life. I can call on any one of them and they will be there for me. It doesn't matter how long I have seen or talked to them, we can pick up as though we lunched the day before. It doesn't matter how busy they are, they will take the time out of their day to help me, be there for me, or inconvenience themselves for me. These friends call or text me randomly to say they are thinking about me, Stella, and that they miss us. Sometimes they send a message about something that made them think of me and it was important that they share. They never use the excuse "I've been too busy" or "I didn't get a chance" but they keep their word out of respect for our friendship. These friends make me feel supported, loved, and special. It is comforting to know that there is a small, secluded group in my life that will always be around helping me be the best that I can be and picking me up when I fall.

I wish that I could list these friends, but many know who they are. Perhaps, some people reading this would be surprised to find out they would be on this list, and that shows me the true selflessness of their friendship. Some of these people are from my college days, others from the work place. Many of these friends I have know for years, and others, only since my haute months of mommyhood. It doesn't matter how long they have been around but what matters is that they are here to stay. Thank you to all my friends who are there for me through thick and thin and have helped me through this next chapter of my haute life. For you, I am truly thankful.