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Thankful at Home 2014

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Julie

It’s officially the time of year to reflect on gratitude.

While our Canadian friends have already celebrated their Thanksgiving, we’re still looking forward to having our friends and families gather in our homes and around our tables for Thanksgiving here in the U.S.

I can’t wait.

I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. I love it even more than Christmas. Truly.

Why?

Because I think it’s more relaxed, it’s less commercial and it’s centered on what matters — being grateful for all that we have and for those we love.

Each year I try to keep a gratitude journal where I write down the things I am grateful for on a daily basis. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to be thankful. Sometimes I feel like I keep repeating the same things over and over. But, the one thing I’ve realized since I began keeping a journal like this is that there is always something to grateful for. Always.

This year was a bit challenging for us as a family. My husband’s job continued to grow more and more stressful as budgets and personnel were cut. His travel schedule remained hectic and he often missed out on important family events like birthdays and anniversaries.

We remodeled our kitchen this summer and it was extremely stressful. Things did not go smoothly during parts of the process so our patience was stretched thin and maxed out at times.

This fall, my son began the 7th grade at a new school. It is his biggest challenge to date. We are working through the normal growing pains of entering the teen years along with hectic athletics schedules, sports injuries and a big load of home work. Some days he and I are both near tears over the angst of learning challenging math problems while finishing his other homework until late in to the night.

Some days we feel like it’s all too much. Wouldn’t the grass be greener (and less to mow!) in a smaller home with a smaller or — better yet — no mortgage? Wouldn’t life be better if my husband could pull back at work and have a less demanding career?

We don’t know what the answers are but I can tell you this: I am grateful for it all. Yes, I’m even grateful for the indecision, the challenges and the uncertainty. It means we are alive, that we have normal, healthy kids and that we have jobs and a home.

I am thankful my husband is such a wonderful provider, husband, father and friend.

I am thankful that we are financially able to make the changes in our kitchen we talked about for years.

I am thankful that my son is an intelligent, thoughtful kid who perseveres when the going gets tough. I am so proud of him.

I am thankful for my daughter who remains cheerful, kind and makes us laugh through it all.

I am grateful for my entire family, my friends and the fact that I have a beautiful home to enjoy through the good and bad.

I am thankful that I am able to stay home with my children while trying to make a successful business out of my little ol’ blog.

I am so blessed.

As I set my Thanksgiving table this year, I am going to be mindful that every single thing is a gift and a blessing. It’s exactly why I love this time of year.