Each week leading up to Thanksgiving week I chose something to focus my gratitude on. It was an amazing exercise to help remind myself to stay grounded in the good through the chaos of life.
Time Spent with Family
The first week of November I spent time focusing my gratitude toward my time spent with family. Since the pandemic forced many of us to slow down I realized how grateful I am to be able to have gotten time to watch my son grow, see him during my lunch break on my WFH days, and prioritize time with those I love; as work will always be there. Throughout this past year I have found a better work/life balance and this has made a world of difference for myself and my family.
Health
Good health is usually something many of us are grateful for. In reflecting on this past year I was in a very different spot this time last year. I had recently had a traumatic birth experience due to preeclampsia and I was still working on getting my blood pressure under control 8 weeks later. Maddox had been in the NICU and was struggling to gain weight once he was home. It was hard to focus on my own health when I was so consumed with his. I can say, a year later I am still emotionally healing from my birth experience (a story for another time) but our physical health is something I will always be grateful for.
Social Support
This past year has also brought a lot of positive changes. We purchased our forever home, I have put more of my time and energy into my passion (blogging), I started a new job in a private practice, and Maddox celebrated his first year on this earth. Throughout all of the ups and the downs I am so grateful for my social support network. A quick text, a night away, or help with content creation I could have not done it without the small and big gestures of support this past year.
Time to Slow Down
With all of the movement I just talked about, the week of Thanksgiving I am shifting my gratitude toward being able to slow down. Life has been hectic and the small moments where I get to slow down and cuddle with Max, play a video game, have hot coffee, or read a book sometimes seem fleeting; but I am continuously working on creating a life that allows me to do this. I am working on staying grounded in those slower moments and cherishing them, especially with this week with some much needed family time coming up.
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Thankful & Grateful – Lifestyle with Abby Lane
November 22, 2022 at 9:40 pm[…] different aspects of my life what I was grateful for and focused on the category (you can read more here); this year I want to ground myself in what I have learned through this past year and focus my […]