A Year of Gratitude - May 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 (okay, maybe sometimes more than one) 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.

May was pure INSANITY.  I think it just might have been our busiest May yet.  All that said, it was good, and we had some fun times, but it was very stressful, and I spent the whole month trying to get ahead (or even just get caught up) without succeeding which meant that I felt like I was in a constant state of overwhelm. 

My dizziness (stemming from my vertigo from last July) hung on all month yet again, so I’m still not back to my normal self even though it’s been almost a year.  (I cannot believe that I have been struggling with this for nearly a year now.)  I’m still taking medication for it daily, and all of the yucky side effects from the medication are still present every day in addition to the dizziness, so some days it is incredibly difficult to have a positive outlook. 

Some days I wonder if the medication is worth it since it makes me feel so yucky, and then I remember how last year, I was unable to drive (or even get out of bed some days) for over a month because of the vertigo and dizziness, and then I tell myself that YES, the medication is worth it.  It’s just such a shame that the side effects are so awful… it’s like having my very own little dark cloud that hangs over me all the time and I’m having to constantly claw through the cloud to find the sun.

But in the words of Dave Matthews, “dark clouds may hang on me sometimes, but I’ll work it out.” 

And I know, indeed, I will.

With aaaallll that said, there was so. much. good. in the month of May, so let’s get to it!

In May I was grateful for…

 

1. Time spent with my Momma getting pedicures.  It was a nice way to get in some relaxation time amidst the busyness of the season.
2. A full day to work since I’m behind on everything in life.
3. Lots of time spent chatting with friends at Field Day at the school, and for an evening of live music downtown by the river.
4. An excellent homily about love at church tonight. 
5. Clean sheets!  It’s always the best getting to crawl into bed in clean sheets after a long day.
6. The opportunity to be so involved at the school.  Sometimes I probably overextend myself, but I truly enjoy my time spent volunteering there… especially during Teacher Appreciation Week.  I am so grateful for all of our amazing teachers!
7. A great conversation with the kids about Jesus.  It never ceases to amaze me how intelligent, perceptive, and wise those two are at such young ages.  The older they get, the better our conversations get!
8. An early morning text from my friend, Brittany, asking for my coffee order so she could grab one for me on the way to assist with another busy day of Teacher Appreciation Week.  And for our school’s resource officer who is always the most kind and helpful human.  He is always ready to jump in and help with anything that anyone needs.  So many kind gestures today!
9. The best teamwork today at the Teacher Appreciation Week luncheon.  Everything went smoothly, and the teachers were truly appreciative.  And I hope they felt appreciated, too, because we are truly grateful for all that they do!
10. Being able to see the Northern Lights right here in our own back yard here in Georgia!  It’s been on my bucket list for years and I’m still shocked that we were able to see them so far south.  They were hard to spot with the naked eye, but being able to see them through my phone camera was still incredible.
11. A positive attitude and mindset today, and for so much productivity.  And for some downtime, too!
12. My Momma, who has always shown me what it means to be a good mother.  For my mother-in-law who is such a dream… I’ve heard mother-in-law nightmare stories, but mine is wonderful!  For Jacob, Olivia, and our angel baby in heaven (whose anniversary is actually today) for making me a mother, and for the gift of being able to carry and bear my own children.  All I ever wanted in life was to be a wife and a mother, and I know motherhood is not always guaranteed, so I’m eternally grateful for that gift.  And for Brian for always making Mother’s Day extra special for me.
13. That our drive home from school was perfectly timed to avoid the dump truck that flipped over on our route.  It appeared to have just happened when we drove through, and I fear that if we had been just 2-3 minutes earlier, things could have been very bad for us.
14. A long phone call with an old friend.  Unpopular opinion – I love talking on the phone and I miss it terribly.  It’s a lost art.  Texting is convenient, and I’m grateful for that capability, too, but I hate that it’s completely replaced phone calls.  I really enjoyed our 30-minute conversation today!
15. The opportunity to attend Olivia’s field trip with her and getting to spend the whole day with her.  I’m also very grateful that she still wants me to attend field trips with her.
16. The beauty of music and song lyrics, and how they can inspire, encourage, uplift, or completely wreck you.  I’m particularly loving loml and You are in Love, both by Taylor, this week.  I’ve had both of those on repeat for dayssss.
17. Everyone who helped with the 7th/8th grade dance – for Carrie for doing most of the balloon arch, for Merritt for helping finish up the balloon arch, for Jacob, his friend WJ, and one of the middle school girls who showed up early to help set up, for our resource officer for all of his help during and after the dance, and for my friend, Shaun, for being the best DJ and giving the kids such a fun evening.  It was a huge success!  And last, but certainly not least, for Brian, for stepping in at Olivia’s dance recital dress rehearsal since I couldn’t get there until nearly 10 PM.
18. Being able to be there to watch my girl NAIL all six of her recital routines.  She was incredible, and it will never not make me the happiest human in the world watching my kids do what they love.  She truly shines on stage.
19. Supportive grandparents who come watch our girl perform in her recital year after year even though it’s FOUR. HOURS. LONG.  It’s Olivia’s favorite two days of the entire year (she loves it more than Christmas!) and it means so much to her for us to be there.
20. That I haven’t lost my mind yet due to the craziness of Maycember.
21. That there are only 1.5 days of school left.
22. Prayer, my direct line to God, because I know I can talk to Him any time, even on my hardest days. 
23. SUMMER BREAK!  And that Jacob and Olivia both wrapped up the school year with straight A’s along with various other special awards.
24. A productive day at home getting things put away from the school year, and a super fun evening playing poker with friends.
25. Waking up knowing that we have an entire 10-week stretch of summer break ahead of us, for random hugs and kisses from my babies throughout the day, for uninterrupted time with them, and for Maui snuggles.
26. A kind message from a friend that I hadn’t heard from in a while and RELIEF from the crazies of the last few weeks.
27. A day with nothing to do and nowhere to be.
28. My hairdresser, Jamey, for coming to our house to do my hair now… it’s so convenient!!  And for freshly cut and highlighted hair for the beach!
29. Time with my girls this evening!  It’s always so good for my soul to spend time with them.
30. My Momma and Daddy who watch the babies when I have an appointment.  It definitely takes a village.
31. Maui’s white blood cell count being higher at her checkup today.  The vet said that’s a great sign and that hopefully means she doesn’t have cancer as they originally thought.  They are going to check one more time in a couple of weeks and we’re praying the levels continue to increase.

 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my month! 

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