Gratitude

• Jaime
• November 11, 2021
• Fall, Inspiration, Life, Mindset
• 1

As usual during this time of year, I am reflecting on all of the things I am grateful for. Especially on this Veteran’s Day, I am so thankful for our veterans – those service members who put their lives on the line every single day and stepped up to serve our country deserve our gratitude for their sacrifice.

My grandad and both of his brothers served in the Navy in World War II, my husband’s grandad was in the Army in Europe and his other grandparents (including his amazing grandmother) welded Liberty ships as part of the war effort. My dad was in the Army in Germany for four years, right after the end of the Korean War. My cousin served in the Marines, and my nephew is currently in the Army. All of them were and are amazing and we are thankful for their service.

I wrote last year about Giving Thanks, and two years ago I wrote about Thankfulness. Reading back through those two posts, I smiled a lot. I love all the memories – especially my son being upset about all the Christmas decorations going up early last year. I do think that November is a time for gratitude, and taking a calm breath before the crush of the holidays – which seems to creep up on me and arrive with a bang every single year.

With all the ups and downs we have had since March 2020, I think anyone who wants to put holiday decorations up early – or leave them up always – is welcome to do so. If it makes you happy, do it! We should all do things that make us happy. One of my friends posted recently about finally winning the early ThanksChristmasGiving battle with her husband, and their new happy medium is adding the fully decorated tree to the turkey/pumpkin/fall leaves décor on the mantle.

Again, if it makes you happy, do it!

This year, I want to show gratitude for all the things. All of our blessings – and they are many. Our family and friends. Warm clothes, heat in our house, and food in our pantry. We live in the greatest country in the world, and we know it.

I love the changes in seasons, and as I shared in our Group Q&A post a few weeks ago, Fall is my favorite of all of them. Cooler weather, sweaters, leaves falling, and cozy times in front of the fire. My son commented last night that Winter and Summer are the big flashy seasons, and Fall and Spring are the quiet, in-between ones. And those are my two favorite – the “in-between” seasons when we can watch the life cycle of all of the things growing in our yard, and mostly not have extreme temperatures one way or another.

Change is part of life, and it is a constant, even when we aren’t paying attention. Our middle child (that precocious, smart little boy) turns 10 tomorrow. I can’t believe he is already there – time truly does fly.

My kids show me all the time that they are learning new things, they do watch and hear what we tell them, and their wisdom comes back to brighten my days or kick my butt. I hope that I am showing them how to be thankful and show gratitude to others. To have manners and be polite, but also to teach others and share our life experiences when we can.

I spent an evening helping some of the teenager’s friends this week with their resumes as they prepare to submit college and scholarship applications. And all of those kids are amazing. Friends, our kids are amazing – and they will do great things in their lives!

We have definitely had some new adventures this year – new jobs, travel for work and fun, knee surgery for the oldest, and a broken arm for the youngest. All of life’s ups and downs are part of the adventure of life! And I am grateful.

I’ve said before, We are the Examples for our kids, and as we all deal with big things, we show them how to do it also. Life around here is never boring, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

For the past couple of months, I have been keeping up with all of the kid activities – and they are doing all the things for sure now, since I told them after the shutdowns that I wouldn’t say no – and I started a new work adventure as well. I haven’t been as good about posting my various weekly wisdom, but I am grateful for all of you, and I will pick back up on things again.

As we all head into the busy holiday season, take the time to show gratitude for all of your blessings. Put the phones down and just enjoy your friends and family. Live in the moment, and do all the things. Life is too short to be stressed or worry about all the little things.