52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge - A Family Member

This week I will be writing about a family member that I am most grateful for.

Hands down, the family member that I am most grateful for is my mother. She is my best friend, biggest supporter and cheerleader. She is the shoulder I cry on, my go-to for any advice. I could go on and on about how valuable she is in my life.

As a teenager and young adult, it's true that I may not have valued her sacrifices as much as I should have. At times I was dismissive of what she had done for my sister and me. I thought she wasn't 'cool' because she didn't always seem to care about looking good or buy herself nice things. But the reality of it was that she was more focused on making sure she put my sister and me first. We had what we needed and what we wanted.

I'm a mother now and see things from her perspective. This has given me an incredible amount of respect for her. I now understand the internal dilemma's she dealt with, especially in regards to my father. (They divorced when I was 11.)

I only hope that I can be the kind of mother she is, the kind that is supportive and loving throughout my son's life.

If you have a particular family member that you are especially grateful for, please tell me about it!

Hope you have having a great Sunday!

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge - Family

Welcome to week 3 of 52 Weeks of Gratitude! Week three focuses on FAMILY. 

My family consists of my son, two biological parents, a step-mother, sister, niece, nephew and a slew of other people that are not related to me by blood or marriage, but that I love just the same. And I also have a ton of friends that are like family to me, but that's a whole other topic!

I have an amazing family! I just want to put that out first and foremost. We do have the normal family arguments, I do fight with my parents and my sister. But at the end of the day, we love each other and would be there for each other, no questions asked. 

My mother is the most amazing person I know. She has sacrificed (and still does) for her daughters and grandchildren. As I've grown up and become a mother myself, she has become one of my best friends. I feel so blessed to have her as a mother and consider her one of my best friends.

My sister and I have a very odd relationship. We aren't very close and yet we are. We get very mad at each other and may say some harsh things, yet we are very quick to defend each other when someone else tries to talk badly. It's like 'I can call my sister a bitch, but I'll kick your ass if you do!' True, there are times I wish she was my best friend. I am jealous of women who can say their sister is their best friend. Who better to be your closest friend in life than the person who's been through all of it with you? I am praying and hoping that one day we can close those gaps and obtain that friendship. Most importantly, she loves my son. And that to me is the most important thing. 

I have a good relationship with my father and step-mother. My parents divorced when I was in fifth grade and my father married my step-mother a few years after, so she's been a part of my life a long time and has been part of my 'growing up.'

There are so many people that I consider 'family' that are not related to me by blood or marriage, like I said before. I am very close to the family of my son's father. My ex and I don't always get along, but I love his family and think they are wonderful people who love my son SO much. I am also close to the family of my niece and nephew's father. They are also very good to my son and treat him like he is part of the family. I feel blessed that I have such a large network of people that I can turn to anytime I am in need. I actually had someone say to me the other day that I've had it so good that I don't appreciate what I have. That's completely untrue. I know I am blessed to have such an AMAZING group of people around me. 

Leave a comment below about your family and why you are so grateful for them. 

Please join me each Sunday for another post of my Gratitude Challenge!

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge - Spouse/Significant Other

Happy Sunday!

This week was a little bit difficult. Not only do I not have a spouse, but I recently became single. So I don't have a spouse currently to gloat about.

However, I am grateful for my son's father. My relationship with him spanned the most time, and was the most seriously relationship I've had to date. AND he is the father of my amazing boy! 

I'm not going to lie, we have a horrendous relationship currently. A lot of hurt and anger between us. But I did learn a lot from being with him, and not just 'what I don't want in a man.' I learned a lot about myself, especially recently. I learned that in order for a relationship to be successful, you must both be in love with each other. I know that sounds obvious, but I don't think we were. I loved him very much, I still do, but that feeling of being 'in love' faded and I don't know why. 

I can admit that I made mistakes and I can say, with complete honesty, I will never repeat those mistakes. I will not let my relationship get to the point that I just don't care enough to do the stupid things I have done. 

And most of all, I am grateful for the amazing gift he gave me, our son. I love that little guy more than life itself. I may not like my son's father most of the time, but I do love him for helping me create the most perfect human being. (in my opinion.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge - Why Start This Challenge?

Like many other people, I can waste an obscene amount of time on Pinterest. Let's admit it, it's addicting. 

Well, I can across the below a couple days ago and thought, 'Hey, this would be a great writing prompt for my blog.' Plus I can write several at a time and schedule the post.

So, the first weeks challenge is 'Why Start this Challenge?' Well, this is two-fold. Like I said it gives me a writing prompt at least once a week. But the deeper meaning is that I will now be forced to really look at what I'm grateful for. Stop and smell the roses if you'd like. 

The past month and a half have been extremely rough on me, personally. I questioned a lot of my choices, been depressed, really felt that I'm just not doing life the right way. On New Year's Eve, it just came to me, I need to just turn my life over to God and let him lead me. (That is a whole separate topic itself.) After finding this challenge, I really believe it will help me to see what amazing things I already have in my life. Sometimes when you think things are just not going well in your life, that there is nothing to be grateful for. But once you actually sit down and think about what you DO have, you realize you really do have a good life and you need to see things from a different perspective. 

So, that's why I'm starting this challenge: to see things from a different perspective and appreciate all the good I do have in my life.

Have you ever done a challenge like this before? Let me know in the comments!

Happy New Year, Happy New YOU!!!