This post is part of The Gratitude Challenge hosted by Let’s Take the Metro.
Around this time of year, posts of gratitude start cropping up. It’s a time to be thankfulfor things. It isn’t as though people aren’t thankful during other times of the year. Our focus is merely amplified during this season, as harvests are finished and we are faced with the long winter ahead. Rather than thining it cliche to post about gratitude, I prefer to think that people are thinking about others and reflecting about their lives. It’s a much better focus, in my opinion, than fictional stories of Thanksgivings past.
So today, as my family kicks off our Halcyon celebrations, I’d like to share a few things of which I am grateful:
- Love – it makes everything worthwhile
- Financial Security – having money to buy necessities makes life much less stressful
- My husband – I’m married to a wonderful man
- Breastfeeding – makes a healthier mom and child
- Our home – it’s nice to have a roof over our heads and a warm place to go
- Good friends – Friends are the family we choose
- Books – full of knowledge and adventure
- The Sun – providing light and heat, begetting all life on our planet
- Snuggling under warm blankets with my loved ones
- My older son – kind and compassionate, I look forward to seeing the man he will become
- My older daughter – creative and instinctual, she will hold her own in the world
- My younger son – with such a strong sense of ethics, he will be an advocate for others
- My younger daughter – joyful and energetic, she keeps me on my toes
- The volunteers at the Natural Parents Network – a great group of people that are wonderful to work with and know
- My mother – from whom I learned much and I miss greatly
- My grandmothers – whose struggles and achievements over generations allowed me to be
- Science – which allows us to learn how things work
- Separation of church and state – which allows us all to believe or not believe whatever we want without dictation
- The quiet at the end of the day when everyone else is asleep and I can reflect on my day
- A good hair stylist who can give me a great haircut requiring that I do nothing to it, even when I don’t see her for 9 months
- Meditation – while I don’t do it often enough, it’s very calming
- Maturity – it adds to wisdom
- Birth choices – because birth is an intimate experience which shouldn’t be dictated by someone else
- Ring slings – my go to baby carrier most of the time
- The family bed – which has given us more sleep, kept us connected, and kept our children safe and taken care of
- Non-violent communication – allowing more effective communication and connection within our family and with others
- Acceptance and those who show it – embracing those who are different
- Advocates – without whom we wouldn’t have many of the rights we enjoy
- Hikes – communing with nature
- Dogoba chocolate mint lip balm – my favorite little pick me up
- Knowledge – I can never get enough
- Privileges – we normally take these for granted but without those who have stood up before us, we would never have had them
- Community – for support when you need it
- Car seats – better car seats and greater knowledge about extended rear-facing and harnessing and boosters to keep my children safe
- Back carriers – for getting more things done and wearing two children at a time
- Unfamily get togethers – because sometimes extended family sucks and friends can fill that gap
- Authors – who not only write awesome books but give them to me free to read and review
- 13 years of marriage and more to come
- Internet – a convenient way to plan co-ops, field trips, get togethers with friends, and share with family
- Sense of sight – allowing me to see colors and the faces of my beautiful children
- Sense of sound – allowing me to smell, from flowers to food to the scents of my family
- Sense of touch – for hugs and caresses
- Rain – aiding growth and making a wonderful backdrop for staying inside
- Snow – for sledding and ice cream, snowballs and forts
- Diversity – making life delightful and more resilient
- Kind strangers – brightening someone’s day by helping out
- Challenges – helping me to grow as a person
- Staying home with my children – so that I can watch them learn and grow into themselves
- Unschooling – an amazing process to live and an amazing process to watch
- Chiropractic care – from a good chiropractor
- Mistakes – for a chance to model humility and forgiveness
- Seasons – marking the passage of time
- Public Lands – an attempt to protect the Earth and remind us that it isn’t ours, regardless of what section to which we may lay claim
- Hot showers – which feel so good
- Photographs – so that I may look back
- Art – for self-expression
- Music – invoking the soul
- Lact-Aids – which enable me to nurse my children
- sticks – some of the best toys around
- Libraries – free use of so many books
- Time – a resource not to be squandered
- Intactivism – a fight for genital integrity
- Aunts – who step in from far away to act as stand-in grandmothers for my children
- Hot teas – which I have only recently come to appreciate
- Recognition – having someone recognize that we have done something rather than judging what we have done
- Sex – whether long love making after the kids are in bed or quickies stolen in the shower
- Grass – a place to play
- Trees – for sheltering and climbing
- Treasures – magical collections shared with me by my children
- A decluttered life – freeing
- Math – showing how everything fits
- Pregnancy – for the feel of my little ones before they were born
- Toddler antics – which keep you young
- Childhood wonder – reminding us of what is truly important
- The question why? – informing and aiding in understanding
- E-readers – which I never thought I’d say
- Laptops – for working close to the kids
- Experience gifts – no clutter and all the fun
- Diet soda – my one occassional vice, which I may one day say goodbye to for good
- Food – nourishment and enjoyments
- Yoga – stretching and exercise
- Rubber ducks in my bath – because someone small is putting them there
- Boardgames – for family game night
- Learning – it’s never a waste
- Mountains – cementing one’s small place in a large world while giving spectacular views
- Freedom – to do what we choose
- Journeys – giving us purpose
- Socks that fit just right – yes, I have sock issues
- Land – growing up on a farm and the freedom that entailed, something I’d like to give my children
- Men and children – there is nothing sexier than a man taking care of and playing with his kids
- The progression of jokes as your children age – they make you groan, laugh, and smile all at once
- ASL – minimizing the frustration of my children before they could speak
- The eyes of my children – so that I can rediscover and learn more
- Sunsets and sunrises – beautiful new beginnings
- Hope – sometimes it’s what gets me through
- A sense of humor – which makes life more enjoyable
- History – which has made me what I am today
- Future possibilities – which will continue to mold me
- Change – new possibilities, new growth, a fresh scene
- My close knit little family – strong, supportive, and there for one another
By far my favorite on your list (they all were wonderful of course!) was the question “Why?”. Oh my, why? Why? WHY? haha that’s all I hear all day long and I must admit it often drives me nuts. Thank you for inspiring me to look at this as a positive and not a negative!
I am convinced this has been the best blog challenge ever 🙂
I believe you were the first person I saw use ‘sex’ on the list, so good for you!! I relished in the intensity and thoughtfulness of your whole list and really enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for participating and sharing all of this thankfulness.