Thursday 23 August 2012

Being Grateful


Today I feel the need to write my post that I wanted to write last month. I've had a couple of crazy, hectic, emotional days that Mrs D. would call "This is sober  living."  I really let myself feel what I felt and kept myself aware of those feelings. The last few days have made me realize that I have so much to be grateful for.  It was great to see my family, including dad who was strong and sober during the funeral. It was tough to say goodbye to Memere. I always made Memere laugh. She would especially love my dirty jokes and my cursing moments. So, I did some of that for her this week. I told her I'd make her proud of me although I know she was.  I guess i want her to be proud of my sobriety too. She always said that I was the first of the grandchildren to be successful in my career and lead the others down the path to success.


1.  I am grateful for my health.  I thank God for giving me two legs to run with, to walk with, to dance with.  I thank God for the ability to use my arms and my mind the way that I do. I thank God for my ability to see my children play, laugh and cry.   I am grateful for the sounds of the birds chirping outside and my son breathing beside me.  We sometimes take the littlest things for granted
like the ability to talk, walk, see or hear. When we see someone suffer with the lack of one or more of these abilities, like I did this week, it makes you really look at your life in a whole new way.

2.  I am so grateful for my three healthy beautiful children.  They are all individuals with such different personalities. They are healthy. They run, dance, feed themselves, laugh, play, see and hear.  They are God's creations.   I feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to raise such precious gifts.

3.  I am grateful for my sisters. They are absolutely gorgeous, inside and out!  We have always been supportive of each other and had each others backs!  When one is down, we all are down.  When we are up, we have a blast together.  Thanks sis for being so thoughtful and worried about the beer around me this week!  Your support means a lot to me

4.  I am grateful for my career.  I am blessed to have chosen a career that I am extremely passionate about.  I love teaching. I love going to work everyday and watching the growth my students make on a daily basis.  I love seeing them smile and get excited about their learning. I am a very energetic teacher and it rubs off on them in the classroom. I'm excited to begin a new school year next week.

5.   I am grateful for my beautiful home. A home I purchased on my own.  I'm excited to get some remodeling done in it. It needs many upgrades.  I may use some of the money I'm saving from not buying alcohol toward a home renovation fund!

6. I am grateful for my camp. It's just a tiny little place of Heaven where my children and I spend most of the summer, relaxing, laughing, and playing together and with friends. We spend time on the Beach, at the park or in the camp and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us.

7.   I am grateful for my friends. I have many friends that are extremely supportive and fun to be with. My colleagues at work have become some of my greatest friends. We can laugh and bug each other   Makes the days go by so much faster.  It's nice to be around positive people who care and help each other out.

8.  I am grateful for this blogging world. I look forward to reading new posts on a daily basis.  Keeps me grounded and reminds me that together we are stronger. It reminds me that it's okay to rely on people's help. It is a great life experience. It has helped me stay sober today.

9.  I am grateful that on July 16th of this year I began my true journey to sobriety.  I made new friends through this blog .  I relapsed twice which only helped me realize how amazing sobriety truly is needed and wanted in my life. I am tempted to say I've been sober for   39- 2 days because if I didn't have that first 30 days in, I would have never know any different.  It was a lot of work to stay sober for those 30 days and they won't be forgotten.   I am grateful to be feeling all the feelings I avoided for so many years ...fear, excitement, anger, anxious, scared, sadness... I am aware of these feelings now and realize that it is truly what living is all about.

10.  I am grateful for today!  For being alive...waking up breathing....with my children in my arms...able to run in the morning...eat...sleep...peacefully ...waiting for another day.




I told one of my uncles that I haven't seen in years that he was looking good.  He replied "I'm just living one day at a time" 
That was my sign.

Lots of love
Day 39-2   ....Or Day 6 again



I'm challenging all my blogging friends to write a list of 10 things they are grateful for. It feels great!   Xo 








4 comments:

  1. Wow this is the greatest post to read! I love hearing about all the wonderful things you have in your life! How many sisters have you got? I have 3, I know all about sisterhood. So great Jen to have you forging ahead with this crazy, difficult, tricky, rewarding, fascinating way of life that is sobriety! Here are 10 things I am grateful for. 1) My online community, what an unexpected blessing that is 2) my husband 3) my kids 4) my wider family 5) my super in-laws 6) my new big wooden kitchen table, handed down from my mother-in-law that just arrived yesterday 7) the sun that is currently warming my back 8) the lovely deli around the corner that I am going to go buy lunch at shortly 9) my brain, I am so grateful for my brain 10) Prince Harry. The British Royal Family would be so boring without him.

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  2. Thankyou for a wonderful post, and the challenge, I needed that this morning. I'll write it on my blog with a link.
    You're doing so well and feeling all those feelings is exactly what life is sbout, you're right.
    I'm still stuck, but I'm praying for some fight and strength again today . . . Maybe a gratitude list will help with that.
    So pleased for you Jen x

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  3. thanks for this, you're an inspiration :)

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  4. This made me smile this morning!!! Yay Jen! And inspired me to post later about 10 things I am grateful for.

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