Being Thankful

Yes, it's been awhile. That's how the life of a SAHM is. Sometimes you have time for extraneous stuff like a blog, sometimes you don't. I've been inspired by some of my friends on Facebook to write about some of the things I'm thankful for in the spirit of the upcoming holiday. The end of November marks the end of what has been the most trying 12 months of my life thus far.

This past year started and ended with a death. I'm feeling it here, writing this, knowing that the end of November marks the one year anniversay of my miscarriage. I can't believe it's been a year. I remember it so very vividly, but perhaps it will always be that way. It may always be the saddest, hardest, lonliest experience of my life. The year ends with the death of one of our cats. It might seem silly in comparison, but we truly lost a family member just a few weeks ago. He was with us for 6 years. Avery is only 4. He is very much missed.

In between those two terrible events many other trying things happened. My best friend moved out of state. Money became woefully short. There were a LOT of family trials - with the three of us, with my side of the family, and with Rob's side of the family. Those are just a few of what seems like one crappy event after the next over the last 12 months.

So many things have happened to make me NOT thankful, that I thought I should instead focus on some things that I AM thankful for. Here's to focusing on the positive!

• Friends. Because sometimes you need another woman to help you realize you're not really insane. I've been fortunate enough in my life to have some amazing friends and this year I've even made some new friends that have become very dear to me. I am particularly grateful to Sarah Cape and Tammy Chabotte for never wavering in their support of me. You girls are rock and my life would not be the same without the two of you.
• Good food! This year I began buying a weekly box of organic produce from a Dahlonega-based business called Organics2u. Every Friday I go pick up a monster box of organic fruit and veg for a crazy good price. It is beautiful produce and helps me to feel I'm feeding my family the best food I can while supporting something I believe in whole-heartedly. The absolute icing on the cake is that I've become friends with the couple that runs the business out of their home, Alex and Paige, and Avery plays with their son every Friday for hours on end. I always thoroughly enjoy spending time with Paige and always feel welcome in their home.
• Gwinnett Area Mommies. This great non-profit organization helped me to meet some of the awesome women I'm now priveleged call friends. If you live in Gwinnett, Hall, Walton, or Barrow county in Georgia then check them out. If you live out of the area you can check out The Mommies Network to see if there's a group local to you. Outstanding support for mother and regular playdates to boot.
• My husband. If Rob and I can make it through the last year then we can make it through anything. He's a great husband and an amazing father who always makes time for Avery. The two of them are so silly together. I love to watch the two of them and am so thankful that they have such a great bond.
• My huge garden tub. Need I say more?
• Music. Nothing gets you through tough times like music. One of my favorite quotes is "where words fail, music speaks". I love it when I discover new music (at least music that is new to me) that brings me joy or moves me in some way. I love all kinds of music but my absolute favorite is Sarah McLachlan. I finally got to see a solo show of hers a few months ago at Chastain. 10th row center. Best. Concert. Ever.
• My parents. I've never been more grateful that we moved close to them than I have in the past year. Always there for me, always supportive. With each passing year it becomes clearer that moving back to Georgia and being close to them was the right decision for us.
• YNAB. That stands for You Need A Budget, my budgeting software. If it wasn't for YNAB then we would have been screwed when August arrived with a slew of unexpected expenses. I've been using it for 3 years and recommend it to anyone looking to start using a budget. It's the reason we were able to buy our house.
• My husband's job. In this economy he's very lucky to have one and it's amazing that he has one that allows me to stay home with Avery. The fact that we own our own home, two cars, pay our bills on time and always have food on our table is definitely something to be thankful for.
• My baby. My sweet sweet Avery Danae. She is turning into an amazing little person who is kind, caring, empathetic, sweet, funny, smart, lovely, and a million more adjectives. She makes all the bad things fade away into the background.

These are just a few of the things I'm thankful for over the last year. I'm not sure the year had more good than bad, but there were definitely some good moment and maybe even some great moments. Sometimes things have to be torn down in order for you to get back to what's important in life. It's allowed us to work on things that needed our attention and we're a better and closer family for it.

Now, here's hoping next year will be a little less eventful!