Gratitude

Gratitude - The state of being grateful; thankfulness.
It is so important to be grateful and content with your gifts in life. Especially now with all of the horrible images and stories coming from places like Haiti where people have lost EVERYTHING.
Even though things could be SO MUCH worse on a personal level, I have many friends who are so negative about their lot in life right now. I must admit, I have been slipping into that trap more and more lately, and quite frankly, it makes me mad!
So I am playing Pollyanna and twisting my complaints into something useful and GRATEFUL!
*Laundry is a thankless, never ending chore.
Having clothes to wear and to wash is a blessing. My children are clothed and I don't need to haul my supplies to a laundromat or worse to a river to beat them against rocks to keep them clean!

*I am so tired of having to come up with a menu and cook everyday.
There are people in the world who don't have the luxury of variety in their diet or food at all. I am thankful that I have 5 grocery stores within 2 miles of my home where I can shop for our supplies. Our budget may not be large, but we are able to keep our children fed. Cooking is one of my creative outlets and I ENJOY using my talents to feed my family.

*I wish my husband didn't work such long, weird hours.
My husband has a job and most days he really enjoys what he does for a living!

*My kids drive me crazy!
Some women never know the joy of bearing or raising children of their own. I am blessed to have had three healthy pregnancies and three healthy, strong children.

*My house is too small for five people. I HAVE to decorate it on a budget. My furniture is OLD! Nothing matches! Whaaaaa!
We have a roof over our heads. Our house is small, but do we really need more space to fill with junk or clean? Our family is forced to spend lots of time together because there is little space for privacy, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing! :) I enjoy finding bargains and take pride in knowing that the china cabinet you admire so much in my dining room was a thrift store find that actually dates back to the Civil War! Every bit of furniture and decor has a history and I like that. My house will never be in a magazine or a catalog and that's okay! A real family lives here.

So what things can you turn from complaints into blessings?

Tomorrow is always fresh

What is it about a New Year that makes people want to completely change their lives or circumstances? Its something as simple as seeing a fresh clean calendar page, writing in a new diary, coming up for air after the holidays to find that we are all still here!
I love the writings of Lucy Maud Montgomery and was introduced to the Anne of Green Gable series when I was around ten. I felt that Anne was a kindred spirit and I connected with her troubles and tenacity through every scrape and mistake. She was just like me in so many ways! But the one thing that always spoke to me was Anne's favorite saying, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it".
I am jumping on the band-wagon and joining Anne with her approach to life! I worry far too much about things I have no control over. And if I make a mistake, there is always tomorrow!

Its Time

Its time to use this blog for what I set it up for. To stay in touch with my friends and family across the country. To have a space to write and process things in my life. To meet other people who share the same thoughts or to start a dialogue at the very least.