Ten Things of Thankful

I have been exploring different blog hops and link-ups lately, and one of the new ones I stumbled across is the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop.  I already keep a Gratitude Log in my bullet journal, so the big change with participating in this blog hop is just finding a community and connecting with others.

At first I was hesitant to make a post about things I am grateful for. Although I do often post about how happy I am with our house and new hometown, a tiny part of me worries that posting a list of things that I am thankful for could come across as braggy.

The thing is though, things could be going terribly in my life and I could still find ten things that I am thankful for. Gratitude logs can be a powerful mindfulness exercise. Right now I am really happy with life, I think currently things are they best they have ever been for me. I still enjoy gratitude logging and find it a great way to keep a positive mindset and reflect the on the week. At the same time, when things have gone the worst possible way and I was trapped under the thorns of anxiety and depression, those were the times when gratitude logging was the most powerful and important to me. I can be grateful that something super amazing happened to me or I can be grateful that the sun came up for another day and my pen works.

The one thing I haven’t tried with gratitude logging is sharing that log with others, but I think that there could be a lot of value in that. I am looking forward to participating in this blog hop. Check out my wordy gratitude list below or skip it and just follow the link to check out other participating blogs. Whatever you do, I highly encourage you to at least think about trying a Gratitude Log in some way.

1. I am thankful that the leaves change color with such vibrancy in my area. I have spent a lot of time in the past week or so admiring the beauty of the leaves. I don’t think I have ever appreciated them as much as I have this year, but they make me feel recharged and inspired. They speak to the writerly part of my soul in a way that they never have before.

2. I am thankful that I live in Littleton, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After I finished graduate school, we spent a lot of time going back and forth on where we should settle down a family. Even once we settled on New Hampshire, we didn’t really consider the White Mountains as an area to live because it is so far north. After three years of renting in a different part of the state, we decided to look at buying a house in the Littleton area almost on a whim, just because we loved the area and town. This area and town is the best possible fit for my little family. My family members tend to refer to Littleton as my Stars Hollow (if you are familiar with Gilmore Girls) and it totally is that for me.

3. I am thankful that my son is in a small school where he is seen and appreciated for who he is. Report cards came home on Friday and I was nervous opening it, not so much about how he is doing (I already have a pretty good idea of what areas are a struggle for him and how he is doing in school), but about how he is seen by the teacher. What I found was a nice report card that perfectly reflected him, both in his many strengths and in the two areas that are more of a struggle for him.

4. I am thankful for this IEP input form. Ryan has attended four different school districts in two different states, and this is the first time I have received a form asking for this much input (or any input) before an IEP meeting. I have been really happy with our experience with the school here so far, now I just have to put some thought into how to fill out the form.

5. I am thankful for new friends and Friday nights. Since moving to Littleton we have found an amazing community and group of friends like nothing I’ve ever had before. On Friday nights we have Dungeons and Dragons nights with some of our new friends. We alternate who hosts and usually have pizza, then the boys and dads play Dungeons and Dragons while the rest of us just hang out. It has become a really enjoyable routine and Ryan looks forward to it all week.

6. I am thankful for slightly older friends as well. When we moved up here we were so busy that I really dropped the ball on staying in touch with friends in our previous town. This past week we have reconnected with Ryan’s best friend in that town. They have already talked on the phone twice this week, and each time Ryan was beaming.

7. I am thankful for the nearly 7 year age gap between my kids. Right now Saoirse is going through a pretty terrible stage of the “terrible twos”, she has also been sleeping pretty horribly lately. I am glad that Ryan is old enough to understand and also that he is so firmly out of that stage that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

8. I am thankful for my husband and his support and encouragement. As much as I love writing, I probably wouldn’t make the time to sit down and do it if it wasn’t for his constant encouragement to do so.

9. I am thankful for this blog. I started this blog mainly for the purposes of writing consistently and right now I am actually really happy with it. It feels really good to be writing consistently on this blog.

10. I am thankful for smartphones and the ability to write anywhere and always have a camera with me. I hate writing on my phone, I would much rather sit down at a table or desk with a full size screen in front of me and a real keyboard. However, life gets busy and I don’t have time to pull out my computer whenever I want to write (especially with a two year old who tends to scream whenever she sees it). Even though I don’t particularly enjoy the writing experience on my phone, at least I am able to write on it and jot down ideas or a past minute blog post. That has been the key to me blogging regularly this past month or so. If I have a phone in my pocket, I  don’t really have an excuse not to write something.

Thanks for reading my list of Ten Things of Thankful. Check out the link up here for more blogs and consider making your own list as well.