Today, I'm thankful for friends.
I recently started following a blog called the Gypsy Mama. I was reading a blog post earlier this week that really struck a cord with me. Here's the link:
Gypsy Mama
Several lines struck my in particular:
I'm so used to hearing the polite answer I think I’ve forgotten how comforting the real one is.
It’s powerful when a friend steps out from behind fine and looks you in the eyes.
I'm thankful to my friends who are brave enough to get down and dirty with me. Brave enough to move beyond fine.
Showing posts with label Thankful Thursday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thankful Thursday. Show all posts
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thankful Thursday
Tomorrow is Veterans Day....11.11.11. So, I am thankful for our Veterans.
I am thankful for the men and women who have put their own lives on hold serving the United States for the freedoms I take for granted everyday. The way my family lives, the peace we enjoy, is due, in large part, to the veterans of this country, both living and dead. I'm forever grateful and indebted to the men and women who have given so much in the name of freedom. I hope I can live in a way that is deserving of their sacrifice.
I'll leave you with words from Ronald Reagan:
I am thankful for the men and women who have put their own lives on hold serving the United States for the freedoms I take for granted everyday. The way my family lives, the peace we enjoy, is due, in large part, to the veterans of this country, both living and dead. I'm forever grateful and indebted to the men and women who have given so much in the name of freedom. I hope I can live in a way that is deserving of their sacrifice.
I'll leave you with words from Ronald Reagan:
"We’re gathered today, just as we have gathered before, to remember those who served, those who fought, those still missing, and those who gave their last full measure of devotion for our country… One of those who fell wrote, shortly before his death, these words: ‘Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.’ Well, today, Veterans Day, as we do every year, we take that moment to embrace the gentle heroes of Vietnam and of all our wars. We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause… Our liberties, our values, all for which America stands is safe today because brave men and women have been ready to face the fire at freedom’s front. And we thank God for them.” – Ronald Reagan
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Thankful Thursday...
Today I am thankful for Growth....
I know that every late October and early November for the rest of my life will turn me into a sentimental, sobby mess. I reflect back to where we were 2 years ago at this time and I am struck by the contrast of where we were then and where we are now.
Two years ago, Brian and I were in a very dark place. We had been trying to have a baby for several years. We had been on a nightmarish roller coaster of infertility treatments since the beginning of the year. Month after month, we experience fear, excitement, anticipation, disappointment, and nervousness all in one not-so-neat little package. We were in the midst of our IVF cycle. I was pumped full of hormones and had a hard time dealing with much of anything. We went to my pre-op appointment and met with my doctor the day before Halloween. I clearly remember her being dressed as "Thing 2" from Dr. Seuss.
One year ago, I was still in the post-partum haze. We had become parents to a perfect baby girl. I felt so incredibly blessed. I was still in shock that Sara was ours and we got to keep her forever. I cried every single day in those first months. I was joyously overwhelmed. I had been back at work for a couple of weeks and trying to figure everything out. The work was the same, but it felt so different. I knew that because God chose to answer our prayers and bless us with a child, I wanted to be a mother just as much as an employee. I didn't want to miss anything, but how on earth could I do both? This year, we had a beautiful baby of our own to dress up for Halloween. Our little Sara cow.
This year, I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle it all. Some days I'm not the model employee and some days I'm not the model mother. On the worst of days, I'm neither model mother or employee. But, I keep trying. I am still joyously overwhelmed. I am a mother and Brian is a father. Our days with Sara keep getting better and better. She is just so much fun! So, as we passed out candy and partook in the festivities of Halloween, I sat back and drank it all in. How on earth did I get so lucky. Lucky I am, and so, so grateful.
I know that every late October and early November for the rest of my life will turn me into a sentimental, sobby mess. I reflect back to where we were 2 years ago at this time and I am struck by the contrast of where we were then and where we are now.
Two years ago, Brian and I were in a very dark place. We had been trying to have a baby for several years. We had been on a nightmarish roller coaster of infertility treatments since the beginning of the year. Month after month, we experience fear, excitement, anticipation, disappointment, and nervousness all in one not-so-neat little package. We were in the midst of our IVF cycle. I was pumped full of hormones and had a hard time dealing with much of anything. We went to my pre-op appointment and met with my doctor the day before Halloween. I clearly remember her being dressed as "Thing 2" from Dr. Seuss.
One year ago, I was still in the post-partum haze. We had become parents to a perfect baby girl. I felt so incredibly blessed. I was still in shock that Sara was ours and we got to keep her forever. I cried every single day in those first months. I was joyously overwhelmed. I had been back at work for a couple of weeks and trying to figure everything out. The work was the same, but it felt so different. I knew that because God chose to answer our prayers and bless us with a child, I wanted to be a mother just as much as an employee. I didn't want to miss anything, but how on earth could I do both? This year, we had a beautiful baby of our own to dress up for Halloween. Our little Sara cow.
This year, I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle it all. Some days I'm not the model employee and some days I'm not the model mother. On the worst of days, I'm neither model mother or employee. But, I keep trying. I am still joyously overwhelmed. I am a mother and Brian is a father. Our days with Sara keep getting better and better. She is just so much fun! So, as we passed out candy and partook in the festivities of Halloween, I sat back and drank it all in. How on earth did I get so lucky. Lucky I am, and so, so grateful.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thankful Thursday...a day late...
This week I am grateful for:
Life. A beautiful mother I never had the chance to met in real life passed away this week from cancer. She was a member of an on-line Infertility support group I frequent. Her story really touched me. She was a teacher. She was a mother to 3 IVF miracles....triplets born 1 year ago today...2 boys and a girl. She lived in a beautiful house, had a supportive husband, a loving family, and many, many friends. She was too young. No child should ever be left without a mother.
This week I had quite a few times when I felt overwhelmed by trying to balance working and mothering. I worried after Sara's well baby appointment, I felt inadequate after I grew frustrated at a work project I couldn't get just right and needed to leave unfinished so I could race home to spend some time with Sara before bed, I felt deep sadness after I dropped off Sara off at school and she cried when I left. Am I doing enough, giving Sara the exposure to art, books, and stimulating her developing mind? Can I really balance a demanding job while being the mother I want to be? Do I have what it takes to make good decisions, and help Sara learn how to make them also?
And then I am reminded that this-whatever this holds- is life. Every day is precious whether it is spent with tissues, with preoccupation, with frustration, with sadness. I get to experience it all-I get to figure it out, day by day, hour by hour. I get to see Sara grow up, I get to cram a 60-hour work week into 40-50 hours until my brain feels jumbled. I get to make endless lists, I get to drop Sara off at school, I get to work through hard days.
What would so many trade for just one more day whether it was hard or easy, happy or sad?
So this is what I am grateful for this week: every day I get to spend on earth.
Life is precious.
Life. A beautiful mother I never had the chance to met in real life passed away this week from cancer. She was a member of an on-line Infertility support group I frequent. Her story really touched me. She was a teacher. She was a mother to 3 IVF miracles....triplets born 1 year ago today...2 boys and a girl. She lived in a beautiful house, had a supportive husband, a loving family, and many, many friends. She was too young. No child should ever be left without a mother.
This week I had quite a few times when I felt overwhelmed by trying to balance working and mothering. I worried after Sara's well baby appointment, I felt inadequate after I grew frustrated at a work project I couldn't get just right and needed to leave unfinished so I could race home to spend some time with Sara before bed, I felt deep sadness after I dropped off Sara off at school and she cried when I left. Am I doing enough, giving Sara the exposure to art, books, and stimulating her developing mind? Can I really balance a demanding job while being the mother I want to be? Do I have what it takes to make good decisions, and help Sara learn how to make them also?
And then I am reminded that this-whatever this holds- is life. Every day is precious whether it is spent with tissues, with preoccupation, with frustration, with sadness. I get to experience it all-I get to figure it out, day by day, hour by hour. I get to see Sara grow up, I get to cram a 60-hour work week into 40-50 hours until my brain feels jumbled. I get to make endless lists, I get to drop Sara off at school, I get to work through hard days.
What would so many trade for just one more day whether it was hard or easy, happy or sad?
So this is what I am grateful for this week: every day I get to spend on earth.
Life is precious.
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