Gratitude is a funny thing. Sometimes you have to really work to come up with reasons to be thankful. Then, come Thanksgiving, you find yourself noticing the little everyday wonders that make up your world. And you’re reminded that you really are grateful for the ordinary — the little things that make life so very big. Then other days, gratitude washes over you in a completely unexpected rush of goodness. Wednesday was that day for me. Yes, the day before Thanksgiving, I learned that one of my favorite bloggers/editors/people, Jessica, did something so very lovely. As one of the Babble Voices bloggers, she was asked who her favorite undiscovered blogger was. I bet you can guess where this is headed… Yep, she said me. (Be patient if you go a-slideshowin’…I’m near the end.)
The unexpected compliment had me breaking into tears at odd moments throughout the day. It was a reminder to me that I’m so very grateful for the opportunity to share my stories and connect with people. So thank you to Jessica, and thank you to each of you who reads along. (Now, if we could just gather around a table with loads of food and wine, all would be right with the world.)
I know, I know, enough of the mushy stuff (though there’s a lot more of that these days thanks to Lesson #7). How about a couple laughs?
Lesson #1: The true sign you’re a know-it-all is when you dish out advice you don’t follow yourself. Like tidbit #7 on this Disney Baby post, for instance. I’m just hoping the car seat dries out before Christmas.
Lesson #2: Renting a bounce house the day before Thanksgiving is like Christmas come early. Nobody wants to pick it up on Thanksgiving, so it turns into three days of 4-year-old birthday fun. (Lesson #2B: Grandparents who shower you with love on your birthday are definitely something to be grateful for.)
Lesson #3: Having a holiday birthday may not sound great, but when you factor in the overcompensating, you come out waaay ahead. (Just ask Little when he comes out of his bouncy-house-with-a-slide/cupcake/game/donut/Star Wars/gum/dragon/superhero/bad guy/mini golf/cheeseburger/fries/ketchup/football/hot dog/chips/cartoon/cake-induced stupor.)
Lesson #4: At 18 months old, licking your plate clean on Thanksgiving isn’t only acceptable, it’s adorable.
Lesson #5: When your kids have their first official sleepover at their cousins’ house, you miss waking up to their sweet faces. Until you realize it’s 7:15 a.m. and you haven’t been shouted at once. (But don’t get used to it, they’ll make up for it later. Tenfold.)
Lesson #6: Hopefully Santa didn’t waste time getting up in the middle of the night to score Black Friday deals for my kids. That is, unless somebody had coal as a door buster.
Lesson #7: I’m under the bizarre (and entirely false) assumption that calories don’t count in San Diego. (The good news is, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to make some holiday money by scoring a Mrs. Claus gig.)
Lesson #8: While Pink learning to say “please” (which really sounds a lot more like a high-pitched, drawn out “puhweeez!”) may be one of the cutest things she’s done in awhile, it’s been outrageously exhausting. How can you say no to that? (Really, that’s not a hypothetical question…I seem to have lost the most itty bitty bit of control I still thought I had.)
Lesson #9: The verdict is in: The lucky flag trumps the lucky shorts. (If you thought watching UCLA lose was hard where you were, be glad you weren’t at your Cardinal in-laws. With a 6-year old who made a sign for them that said, “UCLA rules. Stanford sucks.” Creative? Yes. Another mark in the coal column? Pretty sure.)
Lesson #10: When you reach the ripe age of [ahem] without ever hosting or cooking anything for Thanksgiving dinner, you’re doing something right. (Actually chances are you’ve done many things in the kitchen very wrong, which means you’ll *happily* be bringing the store-bought pies for the rest of your life.)
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are surrounded by people on the “Nice” list this week!
Oh my goodness, Pink is 18 months old? I cannot believe it. Your posts always bring a whole lot of wholesome and dare I say normal, in this very crazy world we live in.
Well, I’m afraid there’s plenty of crazy where this wholesome comes from too! Thank you, though.
So glad your turkey day was incredible – and tasty, it sounds like :)! Matt left for work for the week so I’m getting creative about feeding turkey leftovers to me and two kiddos – wish me luck!
And sorry about the loss – as Matt kept saying from the beginning – this game really doesn’t mean that much to us… I think the lucky shorts have more power when they’re on their home turf – anything can happen next game!
Here’s to turkey! (And a rematch on Friday!)
Watching your team lose in the company of smug relatives is the worst. At least you got some turkey out of the deal.
I also thought calories didn’t count on vacation! They do? Maybe that’s what my jeans were trying to tell me. Their protests must have been muffled under my overhanging belly.
I found you through Babble, so I’m grateful to Jessica, too!
Oh my, now I have yet another reason to be grateful for Jessica! Welcome, Amy, and thank you for joining the conversation here. (I’m thinking of renaming my blog MomsNamedAmyorAimee.com … or not.)
Amy, I should definitely clarify. My relatives weren’t the smug ones. We were. Which made it that much harder to eat humble pie (unlike everything else that wasn’t nailed down that weekend). Good thing there’s a rematch this weekend. Maybe I’ll wait to taunt the Stanford fans this time … especially since we live right by Stanford.