Good-bye, March.
The past month has been a challenging one. As 2016 was ending, there were a lot of “good bye, good riddance” discussions taking place, where people were commenting on how glad they were to see 2016 go, and I read through them thinking, wait, I got pregnant, grew, and had a baby in 2016. I loved this year, despite the political turmoil that was a constant backdrop to the joy in our home with new life.
That “good bye, good riddance” attitude is how I feel about the month of March, though. Ironically, I started a gratitude project in March, and then the universe responded with, I’m going to make everything hard for you this month just to really challenge you to feel grateful for your life! I’m left wondering what lessons I was supposed to learn through this month.
March for us included a full work schedule for Matt with so many extra hours put in to write a grant, adding stress to all of our lives; a scary couple of doctor’s appointments for Cambria; Everett getting the flu and passing it to me, so we didn’t leave the house for over a week, and I could not get out of bed for three days straight; and a grueling personal decision and some uncomfortable self reflection for me.
However, I am choosing to take these hardships, shift my perspective, and start this next month on a positive note, focusing on the things from March for which I am grateful:
- I am grateful for a hard-working husband who is involved in inspiring work that he is passionate about.
- I am grateful for a healthy baby girl who turned five months old in March.
- I am grateful for a lively two and a half year old boy who is my daily adventure buddy.
- I am grateful for family that came down to help with our kids while I was sick in bed.
- I am grateful that we have the space in our lives to make choices that feel right for our family, and that I am able to make personal decisions that feel like the right path for myself.
- I am grateful that I am still learning a lot about who I am at the age of 33 and that I am continuing to grow.
April, please be kinder to us than March was.
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How can I look at these photos from a recent family canyon walk and not feel grateful? I love that we live in an urban neighborhood, but can still walk to and explore canyons from our house. I love that Everett exudes joy being in nature. I love taking pictures of my family. Lately, I am making more of a conscious effort to hand Matt the camera, so that I am in some photos, too. I like being behind the camera 1,000 times more than in front of it, but I also want to be in these pictures that document what daily life looked like for our family during this season with two young kids.
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