give thanks

One of the harsh realities of divorce is having to split holiday.  Since the kids and I were in New York last year, this thanksgiving will be my off year. 

But, thankfully, Sadie and Andy came to Arizona a little early, and last Sunday, we still got to do the full thanksgiving feast together.  Today, I helped Sadie make our traditional pumpkin pies for the real deal tomorrow. It's something she wanted to do, and I'm glad she wants to keep up the tradition, even if we're looking through a much different lens this year. 

Tonight, despite all that's happened, my heart is full of gratitude. I try to never let myself hang out in the "poor me" zone for too long. It's just not healthy.  Plus it makes me super unhappy. Not to say I don't still continue to grieve my former life, because some days I do. But, I am finding, that for the most part, each day gets just a little better. Sometimes almost immeasurably, but yet, I think about how crazy hard it was a year ago at this time, and I know there has been so much healing. 

A few months ago a young mom was giving a talk in our church service.  She has lost a baby the previous year and was sharing a little bit about overcoming another kind of crazy hard.  She said something that impressed me so deeply, 

"Gratitude is paramount for healing." 

I have thought about this mindset again and again. I have a "gratitude journal" dedicated exclusively to writing down all that is good in my life. In the past five hundred plus days, I have literally only missed four days of recording what I have to be thankful for.  Even on my darkest days, I could always, with very little effort, find some kind of blessing. 

So here's to 

Giving Thanks 

for 

all that is good in this wonderful, unpredictable, happy, sad, joyful, comical, hard, and yet amazing world that we live in. 

Because, at the end of the day,  life is always worth living. 

Happy Thanksgiving

my beautiful readers.