30 Days of Grateful

So, I missed yesterday, Monday – Day 29!

And here it is…….

For Monday – Day 29, I was grateful for:

Vegetable Beef Soup

It was sooo cold yesterday, but after work I had parent teacher conferences and I had a delivery to make for some photo books that I made and sold. I didn’t get home until 8-ish. However, when I got there, the soup was made and ready to eat. And it was so warm and delicious. I LOVE soups on cold days! And since winter is FULL of cold days, we eat a lot of soup during this season.

Tomorrow is December 1 so we will be done with the 30 Days of Grateful. However, that doesn’t mean our gratefulness stops. We should be grateful for something, no matter how small, every single day we are on this Earth.

So, for Tuesday – Day 30, I am grateful for:

My Years of Motherhood

And to be exact, it’s 23 years of motherhood. As with any parent, I have made my share of mistakes — a lot in fact. But, I’ve truly tried to learn from each one no matter how long it took. During my years as a mother, my children have taught me how to love more deeply than I ever understood was possible. They have each pushed me to my limit on more than one occasion, made me laugh so hard I peed my pants, brought tears to my eyes with their silly antics and tears from frustration and anger. I have yelled way more than I should, cried and begged and pleaded for things to calm down, talked them out of their dark places (all teens go through this at some point), wiped their tears and their behinds, been their shoulder to lean on and their worst enemy (discipline sucks), but through all the ups and downs of parenting, I have grown into the mother that I am.

I’ve had eleven pregnancies, two miscarriages, birthed nine kids to include a set of twins and endured the loss of one of my teenagers. I have buried those two miscarriages and my 17 year old son. I have watched my older boys cry from their own broken hearts, tussle like alley cats in the back yard (or the living room, the bedroom,, the kitchen, etc), bailed one out of jail a couple times, watched some of them lose their license and have to start over and I have watched my girls throw fits like nobody’s business, argue til they’re blue in the face and get so mad they cry.

But I have also witnessed such joy in each of them, been present in the hospital room when my oldest son and baby’s mother brought my first grandchild into the world, and witnessed when they’ve had their first crushes. I watched in agony and heartbreak when their hearts broke when we lost our son, their brother. I’ve seen each of them giggle with delight as the butterfly fluttered right in their faces or when they finally caught the frog they’d been chasing. I’ve sadness creep across their face when the worm got stolen of their fishing rod or the ball didn’t go in the hoop at the basketball game.

I’ve been their to witness each one growing into the person he/she is today no matter how old he/she is and all while they never really think about what they’ve done for, what they’ve truly given to me. It’s been a learn-as-I-go experience, but I look forward to many more years of this journey called motherhood.

And that concludes my 30 Days of Grateful!

What are you grateful for today?

Come on, start sending those responses! I can’t wait to hear what you are thankful for in this life!

See y’all back here tomorrow!