An attitude of gratitude

I was just about to write down some things that I was thankful for in a journal, but then I thought, why not share? From the major to the mundane, here are a few of the things I am giving thanks for today.

1. My husband... He's the best thing that has ever happened to me. To have someone fall in love with you when you are at your worst self... to know he saw the spark of the real me and who I truly was at a time I didn't feel like I deserved anything good ever again. Miracles are real. He makes me want to be my best self, because he deserves nothing less than the best wife and partner I can be.

2. My true friends. I got so very lucky with the people I choose to call my nearest and dearests.

3. My job - especially at a time when so many people are looking for one. Knowing I get to work with some of the greatest people (and cooks!) in the world is a pretty convincing reason to get out of bed every morning when the alarm goes off.

4. My family. In-laws especially. I married into such a wonderful bunch of loving, funny, caring people. I give special thanks for this because I know what it's like on the flip side. I'm beyond blessed by these people.

5. Josh's friends - wow, he knows how to pick 'em! To be accepted by them so readily and embraced by their friendship and love is pretty special indeed.

6. My home - starting from nothing (my credit score was 0 after my divorce as I had nothing in my name and had had no "forward moving credit" {credit cards, car payments, etc} for 3+ years) was such a challenge. It took longer than I wanted for everything to go through with my house, but I did it, and I did it myself! It's not going to be our forever home, but in the meantime we love it so much. It is a happy place that people (seem to) enjoy coming to. Everyone seems relaxed and happy there, and really what more could we want? The dogs have a great yard, the house has tons of character, it's clean, conducive to our lives, and the colors we've picked are soothing. I'm happiest on Sundays when the house is freshly scrubbed, our fridge is full of groceries, and I get to sit on my comfy, lovely couch and just bask in being 'home'.

7. It's Friday! And I get more time with friends and fam tonight (not sure how long I can hang, as I feel like crap, but so happy to see everyone anyway).

8. We can pay our bills, afford to eat healthy, afford to let my husband go to school full time without having to work, and still have a healthy savings account. This is the result of a lot of sacrifice and little-to-no frivolous spending. It's hard, and sometimes it really ticks me off,  but I know we're doing things in a good and smart way, and are so much better off than a lot of people our age. I'm thankful for my husband's financial wisdom, even if sometimes it drives me nuts.

9. I get to go to the mall this weekend to return the things that didn't work out that I bought last weekend. Not only do I get to use the store credit I will receive to get a few other cool things, but I just remembered I have a $50 gift card from xmas I never got around to using! Would love a couple of cute summer dresses!

10. Spring is right around the corner. Dandelions in the yard, daffodils popping up on the side of the interstate to cheer me on during my commute... life is good. Especially when wonderful weather is getting closer and closer to being an every day occurance.

11. The serenity prayer. Most people associate it with AA, but I think we could all use it and apply it to our lives:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

I pray it every morning and every night, several times in row. Sometimes, I am praying it, hoping for the courage to change something I can, but then the "wisdom to know the difference" thing kicks in and I realize that it's actually beyond my control. A lot of things are. However, this prayer has changed the way I think about and approach 'problems' in my life.

12. Forgiveness. Now, don't get me wrong here. I don't go to church, I consider myself much more spiritual than religious, and I'm not going to preach at you ever. But I am grateful that God forgives. I am grateful that there are people who choose to forgive and love rather than hold a grudge and hate and judge. I am grateful that little by little, I learn to forgive myself. If I had just kept listening to God instead of other people, I might have gotten to this point sooner. :)

13. My health. Granted I feel like crap right now, and my husband just got diagnosed with shingles yesterday, but overall we are healthy people. I couldn't say that about myself 3 months ago, even, because I didn't take care of myself. But now I do and I'm never going to stop.

14. My life - the imperfections make it perfect. Perfection would be so boring.

all images via "we heart it"