Something I have learned about myself in the past few years is that I have a hard time faking gratitude. Some people are fond of saying, "Fake it til you make it," and I have tried to do that when I'm discouraged or overwhelmed. I know that an attitude of gratitude can make all the difference, but, frankly, I am not great at faking.
That being said, when I can see a silver lining, when I can sincerely find something to be grateful about in a tough situation, I LOVE the attitude of gratitude.
As Hubby and I come to the end of this pregnancy, and closer to the MAJOR life change that parenthood will bring, I am finding that gratitude is easier to come by in tough situations.
These final days of pregnancy, for example. I am sincerely grateful for these final days and weeks. I will admit, I don't love every aspect of being pregnant... but I love carrying our child. I am INCREDIBLY grateful for how our pregnancy has progressed without complication. I am grateful that I am still able to work at 37 weeks along. I am grateful for the little (and sometimes BIG) jabs in my ribs and stomach, because it means my baby is healthy and moving and growing. I have no idea how many times in my life I will be pregnant, or when the next time will be -- once our baby arrives on earth, the pregnancy is over indefinitely, and so I truly am grateful for every day that remains.
Adding to this gratitude is the sobering reality that we have known three couples in the past month to give birth to their babies. One couple had unforeseen complications that put their newborn in the NICU for 5 nights... and that's the happy ending. Both of the other two couples, their babies died either before or shortly after birth. In one of these cases, the death was not a shock... but that doesn't make it an easier situation, and in the other case, the death was completely sudden and unexpected. PLEASE keep these couples in your prayers as they are coping with the unimaginable.
I am so grateful for my big, growing, kicking, healthy baby that is still inside me.
I am sincerely grateful that I am able to do my job. Sometimes I have had to talk myself into gratitude for having a job... but in these last weeks of life before parenthood, and these last weeks before life on a salary cut due to maternity leave, I REALLY am SO grateful for my job and the chance to do what I love with wonderful students.
In the past month, Hubby and I have gone from three cars down to one. Once upon a time, we each had a personal vehicle and I had a work car. In December I was in a minor accident while driving in the canyon... it was minor, except there is nothing minor about sliding on ice into a guardrail several times when you are 7 months pregnant. That being said, the accident could have been SOOOO much worse, and we are so grateful for how minor it was.
That took us down to two cars until my work vehicle is fixed. Then yesterday the transmission started to go out on my personal vehicle (and when I say, "started to go out," I mean "the vehicle will no longer find Reverse or Park reliably"). I made it to the transmission shop and might have a working car again by the middle of next week. Hubby and I are both mildly disappointed about the inconvenience of only having one vehicle, and the upcoming expense of transmission repairs... but we are both SOOO GRATEFUL for how smoothly the problem was solved. At 9 months pregnant, my transmission could have blown up and stranded me along I-70... or better yet, the transmission could have begun acting up when I was in labor and we needed to get to the hospital. Can you see us pulling up to the emergency drop-off, and my husband puts the car in park... and it keeps rolling?
We're also grateful that we had three cars to start with so that when we are down two, we still have a vehicle to meet our needs out here in the middle of nowhere, Colorado (its not like we can hail a cab or take the subway).
The attitude of gratitude really makes such a difference, and Hubby and I have SO much to be grateful for these days.
That being said, when I can see a silver lining, when I can sincerely find something to be grateful about in a tough situation, I LOVE the attitude of gratitude.
As Hubby and I come to the end of this pregnancy, and closer to the MAJOR life change that parenthood will bring, I am finding that gratitude is easier to come by in tough situations.
These final days of pregnancy, for example. I am sincerely grateful for these final days and weeks. I will admit, I don't love every aspect of being pregnant... but I love carrying our child. I am INCREDIBLY grateful for how our pregnancy has progressed without complication. I am grateful that I am still able to work at 37 weeks along. I am grateful for the little (and sometimes BIG) jabs in my ribs and stomach, because it means my baby is healthy and moving and growing. I have no idea how many times in my life I will be pregnant, or when the next time will be -- once our baby arrives on earth, the pregnancy is over indefinitely, and so I truly am grateful for every day that remains.
Adding to this gratitude is the sobering reality that we have known three couples in the past month to give birth to their babies. One couple had unforeseen complications that put their newborn in the NICU for 5 nights... and that's the happy ending. Both of the other two couples, their babies died either before or shortly after birth. In one of these cases, the death was not a shock... but that doesn't make it an easier situation, and in the other case, the death was completely sudden and unexpected. PLEASE keep these couples in your prayers as they are coping with the unimaginable.
I am so grateful for my big, growing, kicking, healthy baby that is still inside me.
I am sincerely grateful that I am able to do my job. Sometimes I have had to talk myself into gratitude for having a job... but in these last weeks of life before parenthood, and these last weeks before life on a salary cut due to maternity leave, I REALLY am SO grateful for my job and the chance to do what I love with wonderful students.
In the past month, Hubby and I have gone from three cars down to one. Once upon a time, we each had a personal vehicle and I had a work car. In December I was in a minor accident while driving in the canyon... it was minor, except there is nothing minor about sliding on ice into a guardrail several times when you are 7 months pregnant. That being said, the accident could have been SOOOO much worse, and we are so grateful for how minor it was.
That took us down to two cars until my work vehicle is fixed. Then yesterday the transmission started to go out on my personal vehicle (and when I say, "started to go out," I mean "the vehicle will no longer find Reverse or Park reliably"). I made it to the transmission shop and might have a working car again by the middle of next week. Hubby and I are both mildly disappointed about the inconvenience of only having one vehicle, and the upcoming expense of transmission repairs... but we are both SOOO GRATEFUL for how smoothly the problem was solved. At 9 months pregnant, my transmission could have blown up and stranded me along I-70... or better yet, the transmission could have begun acting up when I was in labor and we needed to get to the hospital. Can you see us pulling up to the emergency drop-off, and my husband puts the car in park... and it keeps rolling?
We're also grateful that we had three cars to start with so that when we are down two, we still have a vehicle to meet our needs out here in the middle of nowhere, Colorado (its not like we can hail a cab or take the subway).
The attitude of gratitude really makes such a difference, and Hubby and I have SO much to be grateful for these days.
I love your upbeat attitude :)
ReplyDeleteOh my heart goes out to the couples who lost their babies. SO heartbreaking!
ReplyDeleteI remember wanting to complain A LOT at the end of my pregnancy but at the same time, like you said, there is SO much to be grateful for!! Love this!
Also, you asked how I get my CB watermark on my pictures. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I couldn't email you back and this is the first time I've been on the computer! Anyway, when I had my blog designed I had the girl make me that watermark logo. She sent it to me like a picture. So now I upload all of my photos to picmonkey.com and then I'm able to upload the watermark and overlay it on the photo. Sounds complicated but it's SUPER easy! And I feel so much better having something on Mia's pictures!
I agree, there are really lots of things to be grateful for. First your accident, thankfully nothing worse happened to you and your baby. And second, your car transmission repair. It’s really a good thing that your transmission broke when it did, because I could imagine the stress you’ll encounter if your car broke down while in labor. How are you by the way?
ReplyDeleteCayla @ NowThenTransmission.com