A Year of Gratitude - February 2024 Snapshot

I mentioned at the beginning of the year that my word for 2024 is GRATITUDE.  To help myself keep the focus on this word, I started keeping a gratitude journal on January 1, and I’ve been writing at least 3-4 things I’m grateful for every single day.  Some days I’ve felt so overwhelmed with gratitude that I haven’t been able to pick just 3-4, so I’ve listed even more. 

To hold myself accountable, and to keep this word at the forefront of my mind all year, I thought I might share a little snapshot of the musings from my gratitude journal each month here on the blog.  I’ll only be pulling one item from my gratitude journal per day to share here as I don’t want to go overboard, and also because some of the things I write are things that I’d like to keep private.  :o) 

Some of the things will be really big things like good health and good relationships, some things may be humorous, and some things will be the little things that most of the time go unnoticed.  Overall, though, the purpose of this whole exercise (and my choosing of this word this year) is to remember that even on the very worst of days, there is ALWAYS something for which to be grateful.

Always.

 

February was an okay month for me.  We had some good times celebrating the Daddy/Daughter dance, Valentines Day, Brian’s birthday, and Olivia’s birthday.  But it was also a bit of a struggle for me, mostly because of my vertigo.  I had another bad vertigo spell for the first time in months, and I’ve been having that boat-rocking sensation on and off ever since, so as you can probably imagine, that has really affected me mentally.  I also had intense face, jaw, neck, shoulder, and head pain all month long, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.  It is debilitating some days, so it’s not just your run-of-the-mill pain.  In addition to that, it was pretty dreary and cold for most of the month, and that didn’t help much either. 

Thankfully, I’ve been able to focus on the good a lot of the time, so what could have been a yucky month ended up being not-as-bad, and I really think I owe that to reading my Bible every day and keeping gratitude at the forefront of my mind. 

With that said, here are a few of the good things that came out of February.

In February I was grateful for…

 

1. A Bible reading that touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes.
2. Kind words from a friend and a good conversation. 
3. So much inspiration all around – in the form of Bible verses shared, scripture notes on social media, friends sharing their hearts, and great conversations with loved ones.  Thank you, Lord, for putting people in my life who inspire.
4. Napkins, water, and an attentive server when I spilled an entire bowl of hot cheese dip on myself last night.  Hahahaha.
5. A new Taylor Swift album announcement!!!!
6. An excellent new OBGYN doctor… for his kindness, genuine compassion, and professionalism.  I have been going to the same midwife my entire life (since I was 17, and she retired last year, so I was devastated to have to find a new doctor after 25 years) and he made the transition so easy.
7. A dear friend who I met through blogging who has become one of my very best friends.  To be able to talk to her about absolutely anything and know that she will meet me where I am with nothing but love and respect and a listening ear is such a gift.  You know who you are, and I love you very much.  <3
8. An empty calendar so I could get stuff done.
9. The best volunteer coordinator at the school because she is super organized and prepared, and she was such a massive help getting everything prepped and ready for us for the Daddy/Daughter dance. 
10. Friendships, old and new.
11. A great homily at church last night and an excellent sermon online today.
12. A safe drive to and from school and no flooding issues like so many in our area had… we had an insane amount of rain in a very short amount of time.
13. Sunshine after a ton of rain.
14. The beauty of children’s Mass at our kids’ school.  I love hearing those sweet little voices singing about Jesus.
15. A clean bill of health at my breast ultrasound.
16. One-on-one time with my girl while Jacob spends the night out… and also wine for my tension headaches.  Sometimes it’s the only thing that helps.
17. A day of fun in Athens at the UGA basketball game with my lovies.  We didn’t get the win, but it was still a fun day!
18. Trader Joe’s vanilla scones.
19. An extra day to sleep in.
20. Another year with Brian!  Happy birthday!
21. Time with my girlfriends at dinner… and Ibuprofen for the never-ending head, face, jaw, neck, and shoulder tension that I had all month.
22. Date night with Brian at our favorite place, delicious food, yummy drinks, and an amazing dessert.
23. The best evening celebrating my best girl with her best friends doing her favorite things.  And I’m especially grateful that my vertigo spell didn’t take me completely under and ruin the whole evening.
24. No more vertigo spells today.  I was terrified I was going to wake up completely taken out like I was last July, but thankfully, all that lingers is the boat-rocking sensation and dizziness every time I lay down or sit up.
25. The blessing of a sweet, perfect baby girl on this day ten years ago.  She is every single thing I could have ever dreamed for and so much more. – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17.
26. A lunch date with my girl at school for her birthday and being able to be there to see her eyes light up when the entire cafeteria sang Happy Birthday to her.
27. Hope… for something to cling to in the midst of trials.  And for an excellent therapist who reminds me constantly that God has plans for me, and that He has the ability to take something broken and turn it into something beautiful.
28. The best night out with my old coworkers.  I’m so beyond grateful for these friendships of 20 years, and that we’ve all remained close even though we’ve all gone our separate ways.
29. Lunch with Momma and Father Manny today… it was so wonderful to hug his neck and have two full hours with him.  Gosh, we all miss him so much.

 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my month! 

Happy Monday, y’all!  What is something you’re grateful for today?