My usual low hum of anxiety has escalated to a fever pitch in recent weeks. That’s not unusual for me—the words “overwhelmed” and “stressed” are MVPs of my daily journal entries. Instead of capitulating to the negativity and overwhelm, I’m countering with one of my favorite offensive measures: a simple gratitude list. With no further prelude, here is a stream-of-consciousness list of things I’m feeling especially grateful for today.
1. The cup of tea Luke (my husband of almost EIGHTEEN years!) brewed for me this morning, as he does every morning without pretense or fanfare—just my favorite cup, filled with my tea doctored exactly as I like it, set out on the dining table for me to sip as the kids and I do school.
2. The kind babysitters who take care of my kids at the Y (where they are currently hanging out as I write this).
3. My 11-year-old who still asks me for snuggles every night.
4. Inside jokes and ongoing pun contests with that same 11-year-old. . . and the realization that preteens can be pretty great.
5. Online HEB ordering, and the ability to finish up my weekly grocery “shopping” (pick-up and put-away) by 9:00 every Saturday morning.
6. Kids who help me unload groceries from the car and are more excited about the fresh produce in our grocery haul than anything else.
7. Kali’s current obsession with making cards for anyone and everyone, and her willingness to push through her writing difficulties to demonstrate love through the written word.
8. Ongoing word games with my Canadian friend Myrna. (We struck up a virtual friendship after being randomly matched on Words with Friends almost FIFTEEN years ago; recently we’ve migrated to Crossplay which has fewer adds and a more interesting game board.)
9. Fun Fact Friday and Sunday Funnies texts from my mom in our family group chat.
10. Parents who answer the phone every time I call and drop everything to let me monologue about every minute detail of my life.
11. Our church plant, whose theology and mission align so perfectly with ours, and where our family is flourishing.
12. Luke and Charleston’s joyful commitment to getting up at 5:00 every Sunday morning to serve a full six or seven hours at said church plant.
13. The opportunity to learn alongside my children each and every day.
14. Getting to set our own family schedule, without the influence of outside schools or jobs. And ESPECIALLY the fact that our own schedule includes time for all of us to read together every day.
15. Our luxuriously soft set of Quince sheets that replaced the threadbare Costco set we bought way back in our California days (we moved to Texas ten years ago).
16. Spellcheck, which is frequently annoying but even more frequently useful in saving me from spelling embarrassment, as it just did when I misspelled threadbare (and also misspelled and embarrassment. . . sheesh, on second thought maybe I shouldn’t be grateful, spellcheck has made me ridiculously lazy with my spelling).
17. Sully’s brilliant mind (and ability to mostly homeschool himself), paired with his sweet innocence that leads to the cutest but also most insightful questions.
18. The fresh paint touch-ups Luke did on our walls last night (and a husband who takes care of allllll the household things without complaint).
19. The kids’ new shared bedroom and library, and the fact that they wanted to join rooms to spend more time together.
20. Nico’s new habit of spending the first part of the night in his own bed. . . and also, his coming into our bed for snuggles in the middle of the night, and waking up to his sweet chatter in the morning.
21. Nico’s glorious curls, his infectious giggles, and the sense of youth and wonder he brings to our family.
23. This blogging space, where I have been bleeding onto the screen writing for more than thirteen years—the very best therapy.
24. Evernote, which serves as my virtual brain and holds my dozens of lists in one place.
25. Morning walks with the kids, and the wonderful facts and Scriptures we memorize together as we walk.
26. The New City Catechism, which is helping me teach my kids about Jesus and also helping me articulate beliefs I’ve held for decades but never put into words.
27. Morning and evening recap texts with Cara, who is my long-distance sounding board and encourager and lifelong sister-friend despite the miles that separate us.
28. My fuzzy robe that I wear 90% of the time that I’m home . . . and family that never makes fun of this unseasonable and entirely unfashionable wardrobe choice.
BONUS #29: My relationship with Jesus Christ, which so permeates every part of my life that I didn’t think to include my faith on this list until I got to #28 and realized that Jesus hadn’t gotten a proper shout-out. Numbers 1-28 could not exist without Him.
BONUS #30: YOU ALL for taking the time to read the online musings of stranger (or, for those of you who know me IRL, a friend whose inner life you are getting to know a little more than might be good for us). I’m grateful that you’re here.
Tell me: what are you feeling grateful for today? (Even if you don’t write it down, I promise that taking a minute to acknowledge a blessing or two is guaranteed to boost your mood!)
