Gratitude

What am I grateful for lately? That is Michelle's BTL challenge prompt today. Read what we're all grateful for at Big Time Literacy.

Today I am grateful that my daughter is back home safe and sound. Irony is one of those strange things.... I am already aware of what it is like to live in a house of THREE high-strung women and how challenging that can be. Today I will choose to embrace the challenge because I missed this kid like crazy.

I am grateful for a job. Not just any job, but THE job: teaching. I love being a teacher. I love the "aha" moments, I love being a stable and steady force in students' lives, I love seeing kids' abilities take off and charting their progress from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. These are things I love no matter what. This year, I am excited to be in a little bit bigger district, I am not going to be downsized by budget cuts. With every pro there is a con, but this is one pro of my current job. Another one is that they believe in giving new teachers to their district adequate training to be prepared to hit the ground running! Hooray!

I am grateful for cars that run, feet that can walk, a mind that still works (most of the time), children to love (and worry about, and train, and fight with and play with and hang out with).

I am grateful for my pets. They are expensive and they can be a pain in the rear, but no one loves me like they do and there's no feeling like getting home after a long, hard day and being swarmed by animals who love and miss me.

I am grateful for family. Those I talk to and see often and those that I don't. Some family is not involved in my life and I am not in theirs, and I love them anyway and I'm grateful they were in my life.

I'm grateful that God made me a mom. I am not always eligible for Mom of the Year/Week/Day (as in..... never), but I feel so lucky to have these kids to love.

I'm grateful that I have God in my life today and that He knows my heart and forgives my shortcomings and wants me to be a better version of myself today than I was yesterday. I am grateful today that God doesn't form that better self through tyranny and harsh judgments, but from a place of love and acceptance.

I am grateful for some things in my personal life that I won't mention here. But I'll say this, the country song is right: if you're going through hell, just keep on going.

Life is good today and I'm really grateful when I can see that and soak it up.