I’d be lying if I said I woke up today feeling grateful,
ready to tackle my day, and feeling #blessed. Let’s be real: It’s month 7 of
another deployment, month 4 of potty training, month 2 of “back-to-school,” and
parent-teacher conference week with ALL half days for my oldest. Today I woke
up feeling exhausted (still?! how?!), and not grateful, resilient, or inspired.
Some days, that’s life, my friend.
But on other days, the sun is shining through my Bed Bath &
Beyond curtains—they’ve made it through 3 master-bedroom moves (a big deal,
folks!)—which means my oldest can ride his bike to school like the youth of
yesteryear and my youngest can sleep her crabby butt in. I get at least an
extra 30 minutes of uninterrupted peace to do dishes and double-tap on Instagram—goals,
I know! It’s not always easy or feasible to find my gratitude, feel resilient,
and embark on a journey of inner peace (kidding—well, sort of) when my youngest
has emptied the entire tube of toothpaste onto the bathroom floor and there are
6 (more than usual) children in my home screeching at Minecraft videos on
YouTube. Why are those videos entertaining?? And I just want a midday nap.
But I do my best to find that silver lining, moment, or reason
(big or small) that acts as the catalyst (or tornado) to flip the switch on my
sour mood and feelings of discontent. I’m trying to find that moment which helps
me feel more gratitude than loneliness, more gratitude than resentment, and more
gratitude than anger or longing. That moment came today in the form of a text
from my husband that just said, “I miss you.” And it came yesterday when our
oldest actually tried the soup I made for dinner. And that moment might come tomorrow
when our toddler finally decides that today will be the day she figures out
this potty-training nonsense.
We all can find our moments; we’ve just got to keep our
minds open to seeing them.
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.
If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” –
Oprah Winfrey (the original “goddess of gratitude”)
