A Year of Gratitude - June 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.

June was a pretty good month.  We started the month with a trip to the beach, and it was just wonderful!  I had a whole week to relax and enjoy the family without having to worry about working, to-do lists, and all of the day-to-day life things and it was awesome.  When we got home, of course, I was behind on blog stuff and life stuff, but we had a crazy busy week back with two concerts and tons of appointments.  I had intended to use the third week of June as my catchup week, and… I got sick.  Sigh.  And I stayed sick for the rest of the month.  Double sigh. 

The last week of June I felt well enough to tackle some projects, and I was finally able to get a bit ahead on the blog, so I ended the month feeling somewhat accomplished.  Not quite as accomplished as I’d hoped, but it was better than feeling behind!

Anyway, enough of the chatter, let’s get to the best parts of the month…

In June I was grateful for…

 

1. A safe drive to the beach and a walk along the shore in God’s beautiful creation.
2. That Olivia’s friend, Evelyn, and her family, who we met last year at the beach were back at the same place and same time, and they were able to find us on the beach and hang out again all day.  Olivia had been talking about that reunion all year!
3. Nice conversation with some Georgia fans we met on the beach and a truly wonderful evening in Seaside – delicious food, yummy cocktails, ice cream for the kids, and a little bit of shopping.
4. That I was able to eat my favorite Mexican food meal of all time tonight!  I only get to have it once a year, and it is always such a treat.  If you’re ever in 30A, you must try LaCo in Seacrest Beach.  They have the best margs, the best white cheese dip, the best chips, and the best taco salad.  Everything is always perfection from start to finish.
5. A healthy checkup and ultrasound for a close friend who is expecting, an unexpected, kind message from a friend, and a fun evening stalking Luke Bryan (although we never saw him).  Lol.
6. Brian, for always staking our claim on the beach bright and early each morning, and for carrying most of the stuff down each day, and for the most beautiful sunset.
7. A picture-perfect last day at the beach, a delicious dinner with friends in the most picturesque place, and that we all stayed safe during the three devastating shark attacks that happened in our area.
8. A safe drive home from the beach and tons of productivity when we got back home.  I did nine loads of laundry.  Is it weird that I kind of look forward to unpacking and getting everything back in its place after a trip?!
9. An excellent online sermon.
10. A day filled with happiness that completely filled and overflowed my cup – breakfast with Momma, Father Manny, and Trish followed by dinner with my old friend, Lauren, and her husband, Zack, and the Justin Timberlake concert!!!!  Y’all know live music is my favorite thing in the whole world!
11. Momma and Daddy for taking such good care of our babies when we go out of town, and for a great conversation with one of the music teachers at the kids’ music school.
12. Another night of live music, this time from my favorite band of all-time – Dave Matthews Band.  And that they played the song I’ve been waiting to hear live for 22 years… ever since my very first DMB concert back in 2002!
13. My mother-in-law for taking such good care of Jacob and Olivia while we were out of town, my father-in-law for kindly watching the kids during my appointment, and for a CLEAN CAR!  We finally went to the car wash and got all of the salty, sandy beach gunk off and out of it!  What a difference it makes!
14. Excellent test results at the vet that Maui’s white blood cell count was back up after a cancer scare back in May.  Thank you, Lord.
15. A new song about Heaven by one of my favorite singers.
16. My Daddy for being the best dad, for Brian for being the best dad to our babies, and for all of the other father figures in my life!
17. Our angel baby in heaven – I’m so glad you existed, even though we never got to meet you.  For Jacob, my kind and gentle rainbow baby, who wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our first loss.  For Olivia, our sweet and spicy, life of the party, jolly gal who probably also wouldn’t be here if things hadn’t all gone the way they were originally planned.  For God, who is always working, even when we don’t understand why things are happening the way that they are.  He knows best.
18. That I was negative for Covid and flu.  For modern medicine to help keep me as comfortable as possible when I feel like poo.  And for a good conversations with friends.
19. Disney, for giving me all the feels while we watched Inside Out 2.  What a fantastic movie.
20. Steroids to *hopefully* knock out this cough, and that I didn’t have a raging headache today.
21. For a great phone conversation and lots of laughs with an old friend.
22. That I’ve been sleeping well despite the fact that I’ve felt like crap.
23. All God’s creatures great and small… there are so many unique creatures on this earth, and you really don’t think about that much until you visit a place that houses a lot of them… like The Georgia Aquarium.
24. RAIN!!!!  After a month (or more?) of drought and ridiculous heat.
25. A primary doctor who genuinely cares about her patients, and for her quick response to the message I sent to her in the portal. 
26. Finally getting ahead on the blog after being behind for weeks!
27. Productivity!  We crossed several small house projects off of the list today that have been hanging over my head for months.  Feels so good!
28. Tons of productivity on the blog and new opportunities with my ad company as well as a brand I’ve been wanting to work with for years.
29. Getting back to church after having to miss a week since I was sick.
30. The time to tackle even more annoying house / life projects that have been on my to-do list for months and even years.

 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my month! 

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