Seasons of Life

Jude is officially 1 month old today! In some ways it feels like he arrived yesterday, and in others it feels as if he’s been apart of our family forever. Some days I wonder what all the fuss is about in parenting three kids, and other days I feel like I’m neck deep. Day’s like today 🙂 How I currently have the time to write this post is beyond me (Well, I’ve actually started and stopped twice already and haven’t even made it through the first paragraph, so there ya go. Thank you baby swing for the gift of sleep). Sure, he’s only a month old, so things are destined to be a chaotic mess for a while. I know that. & thankfully we somewhat prepared ourselves for the chaos. That doesn’t mean we’ve handled it like rockstars, but I’m thankful we went into this season knowing it was going to be a challenge. Somehow it helped lessen the madness (at least in our minds). But that’s not always the case. Life doesn’t come with a manual and a lot of times we aren’t able to prepare for new seasons in life. What we can control, however, is our attitude.

I saw this quote the other day and thought YES! That is the key to life right there. It so spoke to me at where I’m currently at, although it really applies to every journey of our lives.

My current reality of sleepless nights, spit up, messy floors, PILES of laundry, & never ending to-do lists doesn’t define my attitude in life. Could I easily get wrapped up in the mundaneness of my world and allow it to effect me? Definitely. If I decide to focus on what I’m failing at or not able to cross off my list (which is most things), my mind goes south very quickly. I so wish I was one of those positive people who always see the good in everything, but unfortunately I’m not- which is probably why I’m talking about this right now. I’m preaching to the choir. Because I know just how powerful our minds are and how vital and life giving it is to feed it with truth and positivity, truth being the key word there. I always hashtag #perspectiveiseverything because really, it is! We have so much to be grateful for, yet it’s way easier to focus on all the things NOT going right in our lives… am I right?! Why is that? Some of the happiest people I know are currently or have gone through some of the ugliest trials in life. I think it’s because they’ve learned to dance through the storm. They’ve learned to look past their current situation and realize A. There will always be people facing greater life struggles B. It’s pointed them back to what their thankful for in life. It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy.

I have a friend who posts “thankful lists” randomly on Facebook. Sometimes they’re big things and sometimes they’re little things… but all of it accounts for the many blessings in her life. She’s said acknowledging these blessings, even on the tough days, is what turns things around for her and puts it into perspective.

So here’s a few things I’m thankful for today: The gift of new life (Jude), COFFEE, sunshine, real/true friends, new lipstick, baby swings 🙂 , a helping husband, Netflix, and freshly painted toes!

Your turn!

XOXO