8.26.2010

A Little Thanks for Your Thursday


Wow y'all, I cannot believe it's already Thursday...does it seem like the week has just flown by to you guys, too? The days are definitely getting shorter now and I can tell fall is on its way! Yay for Pumpkin Spice Lattes and some Razorback football!

I don't often get too personal on here, (which is kind of ironic for a blogger, isn't it, haha?) But last week was definitely not one of the better ones for my family. My great grandma has been in not-so-great health for some time now; she has suffered from severe dementia for quite a while and it's sadly to the point where she doesn't really recognize us anymore. After a year or more of having a live-in caretaker for her, she finally had to be placed in the nursing home last week. It has been especially hard for my grandad (her son) and my mom. She is in her nineties and this is to be expected, I know. But still, it doesn't make it much easier to deal with, even when you know it's coming sometimes, ya know?

Anyway, during rough times, I like to take time to count my blessings and kind of thank God for the GOOD things in life, just to help me keep things in perspective. Plus, as much yuckiness that surrounds the current situation with Great Grandma, there are just as many amazing, wonderful things happening in other ways in my life.

I started keeping a gratitude journal a couple of months ago and would strongly encourage anyone out there to try it, too. Each night, I just kind of make a list of the things I'm grateful for that day. Not necessarily the bigger, more obvious things, like my job or my apartment, but smaller things, like getting an unexpected email from an old sorority sister or having a moment of hysterical laughter with a good girl friend.

Here's a bit of what was in my gratitude journal last night:

Perfect (Cooler!) Weather- These past couple of days have been positively blissful. It was 65 degrees when I went out to my car yesterday morning and GRACIOUS does that ever feel good compared to 90 degrees and 1000% humidity at 7:30 a.m., haha. Definitely thankful for that!

My Co-Workers- I will stand up in court and testify to anyone that I work with the most amazing team of people, period. A lot of them have become close friends of mine outside of work as well, and it's so refreshing to go to my job each morning knowing that even if it's a crazy/stressful day, everyone has each other's backs. Sure, we get, *ahem*, testy with each other from time to time, but as my dad would say, "they're good people."

New Opportunities with the Blog- I've gotten several bits of exciting news (some big, some little) that will surely surface on here within the coming months, things I'm so excited to share with you all! We'll be welcoming some new faces (and voices) and talking about some fresh topics to help gear us up for fall. Get excited, girls : )

Sharpie Pens, Tazo Mate' Tropic Tea and Smashbox Undereye Concealer- The first, because it keeps my writing all nice and neat (hello Type-A personality!), the next, because it tastes like summer and the last, because it helps me look less frightening due to lack of sleep : )

This Prayer- One of my co-workers sent this to me 2 years ago and I immediately printed it off, intending to put it on my bamboo board at home. I was digging through my desk the other day, stumbled upon it again and took it home and tacked it to the front of my fridge so I'll see it every day...seriously love it.

What are some of the things you're thankful for today/this week?

Be blessed, lovelies-

Photo credits:

17 comments:

  1. Love this post! And what a great idea for the gratitude journal. I think too often we look at all that's wrong with our life instead of looking at all the good things, especially the small things that add up to something wonderful! Thanks for this post!!

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  2. This is such a wonderful post. I've spent so much of this week thinking about myself (moving to dos, work to dos, etc) that I haven't taken one minute to just be grateful.

    I am thankful for my Beaufort friends who are so wonderful that moving home is bittersweet.

    I am thankful that we have found a little nest in New Orleans that will be all ours.

    I am thankful that five years after the storm we have a place to return to.

    I am thankful that you are a fabulous blogger who always has a bright voice and grateful heart!

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  3. Sharpie Pens?!? Ha! I love it. I am the same way and find them so useful. Your list was cute and reminded me to appreciate all the good today. Thanks!

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  4. I always fine counting our blessings helps me to be at peace with the other things that may not be going perfectly in life. Having a loved one go into a nursing home is difficult to stomach. My great grandma moved to an assisted living situation yesterday, and I wish I could be there to visit her (she is in Illinois and I am in Colorado) :(

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  5. Leslie, I'm sorry to hear about your great grandma, be strong, lady! You and all your family! And thanks for the idea of gratitude journal! Will definitely start one as this must be something motivating to see what you've achieved throughout one day. xoxo

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  6. I'm so sorry to hear about your great grandma. You seem to be coping well, but your whole family will be in my prayers!

    I think a gratitude journal is a wonderful idea. I might steal it from you ... :)

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  7. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

    And yay for cooler weather! I loved walking across campus this morning. It truly felt like fall!

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  8. I'm thinking of you and your family. We're actually going through all of that right now with my grandmother as well.

    ..I'm thankful for hot yoga that I can have a workout for my body while relaxing my mind.
    ...And I'm thankful for my marketing teacher to let us out an hour early so I could go to the boat and listen to concerts for Waterfront Wednesday last night. :)

    Random, I know, but I'm loving this post. xo my lady.

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  9. I'm a new reader and commenter!

    I love the idea of a gratitude journal, makes you keep count of the little things. Oh and Sharpies! I love them too! Definitely thankful for them!

    So sorry to hear about your Great-Grandma, I had a similar situation a while back and it's not easy, is it?! I'll keep you in my thoughts =)

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  10. What a great idea to keep a journal filled with things you are thankful for! It's so important ot focus on those things! I am also so happy for the break in the heat this week!

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  11. Keeping your family in my prayers. Hang in there girl. I LOVE this idea of a gratitude journal. My high school religion teacher made us do this and it was so rewarding. I need to start it up again!

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  12. it is so hard to see a grandparent go through something like that....we are currently in a similar situation. i think it's sometimes harder to see how it effects the surrounding family members more so than the actual one suffering, because we are the ones more aware of the situation at hand... :(
    on another note, a gratitude journal is an awesome idea that i will surely be implementing into my daily routine (with a sharpie pen to boot!) ;0)

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  13. I'm sorry that your family is having to go through that right now. But it seems like you're doing a really great job of staying positive :)

    I printed off that prayer as well, I love it!

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  14. I'm sorry to hear about your great grandma. I know that has to be hard. Being thankful in the midst of a storm is hard, but it is sooo necessary. I'm going to add your idea of a gratitude journal into my prayer journal. I love writing down prayer requests and then going back and seeing how long it took specific prayers to be answered, in whatever way God decides, good or bad. And I too love love love this cooler weather AND sharpie pens! :) I'm excited for tomorrow's post! ;)

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  15. What a great idea - a gratitude journal!

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  16. I love the idea of a gratitude journal...I definitely think I will give that a try.

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  17. Aw, your Grandma will be ok. It's always very difficult. Love the journal idea. Keep your spirits up :-)

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