Holy cow. It's almost halfway through March and I have yet to write my first blog post of the year. I really have no excuse except that I've been extremely busy. Aren't we all? I figured I needed to just rip off the band aid, get on here and write SOMETHING. Once I get started it's all good but for some reason I've been putting this off.
The year is off to a good start. We're busy but in a good way. The travel hockey season is wrapping up and travel soccer is getting under way so we're perpetually in sports mode. I'm not complaining though; the fact that my kids are active in sports can only mean one thing: they're healthy and building a foundation that will last them a lifetime. I love watching them interact with their teammates in their own unique ways. I love seeing them move their bodies and learn the ups and downs of competition. It's a beautiful thing.
So this year, no New Year's resolutions, no empty promises, no setting ridiculous goals I can't meet. Instead I'm going to make a list of the things that I'm grateful for and that I hope to build on throughout the rest of the year. I've been working a lot on personal development in the past few months and gratitude is a huge component of expanding my mind. I never realized how powerful gratitude can be - when I really truly focus on it and let my mind open up, wonderful things start to happen. I'm only just beginning to grasp the true effect of practicing gratitude consistently.
So here goes - my gratitude list for 2016: may it carry me forward and unlock every little bit of potential life has to offer.
My Family
This is a no-brainer but it's important to focus on daily. Family is everything. I have an amazing husband who goes above and beyond for us all every single day. He is the most selfless human being I know and he makes me a better person. My kids continue to challenge me and amaze me every day. It's not easy being a parent and now that we've entered the teenage years and have another one on the brink, I'm bracing myself for the unknown. I'm grateful to have a good relationship with my kids and I hope one day they realize how precious it is. I have the best sister ever, one who has inspired me in the past year with her newfound passion for helping others improve their lives and who has pulled me along with her to do the same. My mom continues to surprise us all with her newfound energy and ability to live in this world in a positive way without my dad, although we know that he is still here with us in many ways. We have five energetic and hilarious little nephews, each with a unique personality and loving nature. I have the best in-laws in John's brother and his wife and my sister's husband - I'm so grateful that we all love hanging out together and enjoy each other's company. Too many families are torn apart by bitterness and strife. We are blessed not to have that in our lives.
My Home
We've been in our house almost ten years this spring. We have yet to paint the main level of our house but I vow not only to paint it but to hang up curtains so that we will finally not be on show for the entire neighborhood when our lights are blazing at night. Our house is small and it needs a lot of work, but it keeps us warm and protected from the elements and I never have to wonder where anyone is because of its size. After our house was broken into and used by teenagers to drink, do drugs and God knows what else last summer, I had mixed feelings about our house. For a long time I wished we could just sell it and move somewhere else as I had trouble shaking the images from my head of what might have happened here. But then last week my dog managed to light one of the burners on our stove while trying to get to some leftover chicken grease and our house and everything in it could have gone up in flames. I suddenly have a newfound love for our house and spent the entire day yesterday cleaning it to make it feel and look nicer. This is where we have raised our kids, we have a lot of memories here and I'm not about to let that go.
My Occupation
This one is interesting and continuing to evolve. For the past 19 years I've been working as a physical therapist and it's taken a very long time for me to actually like my job. I can't say that I love it but I do find it rewarding in certain ways, although frustrating at times as well. If all I had to do was treat patients it would be perfect, but the paperwork is murder. It's hard to be grateful for that piece although it does help pay the bills. But I recently took on another occupation when I teamed up with my sister to help people improve their lives with our nutrition program. This endeavor is still in its beginning stages, but I'm finding a great deal of satisfaction in helping people to feel better and discover a newfound energy they never knew they could have. I'm extremely grateful that my sister shared this with me and I can't wait to see where we take it.
I could go on and on - but I think these three things are enough to keep me going! I'm trying to get into the habit of writing down my gratitude list every morning since it's constantly evolving. I find that when I do it, it sets a tone for the day that I would not have had otherwise. It changes the dynamic of how I interact with the world.
So let 2016 be the year of gratitude. I'm loving it so far and can't wait to experience the rest of it.
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