Gratitude Day 1: Come celebrate. Life is hard.
Gratitude Question: What is there about the challenges/ difficulties you have experienced (or are currently experiencing) that you can be thankful for? What have you learned? How have you grown?
When I see this question I think of the song, Life is Hard by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The lyrics state, “Come celebrate. Life is Hard” Why celebrate if life is so hard? Well, because with every hard time there are positive insights to be had, there are lessons to learn. The first thing that pops into my head is COVID. The 2020 pandemic has been and continues to be challenging. We have been very lucky compared to so many.
We have friends and family who have suffered this year. Yes, we have been overwhelmed with stress but it’s nothing compared to what others have dealt with.
Quarantine was a challenging experience, but I am proud of our family. I think we made the most of it. Yes we were stressed because it was hard to be productive. Some days more than others. We cried, we laughed, , we yelled, we played. Our exercise routine was flipped upside down which can affect your mental and physical health. We cleared out our home office and made it a gym. Our dining room became an office, and a classroom. Homeschooling two kids and trying to do work at the same time makes you want to pull out your hair. We went for a 1 mile walk as a family every day during quarantine, which honestly, was my favorite time of the day. We spent more money on food than usual because the kids apparently don’t stop snacking. Grocery shopping became the most dreaded task ever because I feared being close to strangers and feared they sneezed on the avocado I was holding in my hand. We tried our best to create a system and I think for the most part we did an amazing job.
Through it all I am thankful that we were and are all together and healthy. Our morning walks were the perfect way to start the day because they reminded me of just that.
Affirmation: I am strong and capable.
