For this Thanksgiving week, I wanted to share a thought on gratitude from Epicurus. It reminds me that in all the hustle and bustle of life, all the carpools and homework, the tantrums and sibling battles, the spilled bowls of cereal and stained Tshirts, THIS is the life that I once only hoped for. I dreamed of a busy home full of children, and that’s certainly what I got. While I will say the days of parenting young kids are hard, and that there are plenty of days I collapse into bed, wondering how I could feel so tired and seemingly accomplish so little, I am so grateful for these days and I try hard not to wish them away.
I have always been a dreamer, and I certainly still have high hopes for the future, but before I get caught up looking forward, I feel so blessed to look back at the hopes and dreams of my past and find so many of them around me today.
What are you thankful for?
This was wonderful to read, and reminded me that in addition to being grateful for the things that I only once hoped for, I am also very grateful for things that I didn’t even anticipate would bring me the joy that they do. When my husband and I got married, that relationship was what I had hoped for. Having a child was a secondary thought, and something that I didn’t look forward to as much as I did the marriage. This past year my relationship with my husband has fallen apart and we are finalizing a divorce, however my absolute joy in spending time with my daughter is beyond my wildest dreams.
So sometimes, we are grateful for things that we didn’t even hope for!
So true, Rachel! Some of the things I am most grateful for have also been the hopes and dreams that DIDN’T come to reality! Life can take all kinds of twists and turns to bring us to a present that is full of blessings we can count today!
This is great. More people need to be grateful for what they have. We have shared this on Pinterest.