After a busy weekend, I realized I had missed TToT for a couple weeks, and was so grateful (#1!) to find that the linkup is open until Tuesday. If you enjoy these posts, I would highly encourage you to join in with those who are thankful. More information can be found at the TToT website, here.
I have missed blogging over the last month or so, but have found that I have relatively little to say. I am thankful (#2!) to be back to it today. Blogging, for me, is like a comfy old sweater that you find at the back of the closet. I don’t realize how much I miss the comfort of it until I do it again.
The Mother’s Day service at my new church was really amazing. I am eternally grateful to my friend, Marla, for getting me back in the swing of going (#3!). It is a smaller church, not anything fancy or pretentious, and the pastor has delivered a wonderful, easy-to-understand message each and every service I have been to.
Since this week’s theme was Mother’s Day, he talked about the gifts we should be giving our mothers. The gifts of acceptance, of appreciation, and of affirmation. He said he knew of many people who were still blaming the issues of their lives on parents long into their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and how freeing it could be to give these gifts to one’s mother, no matter the relationship. I have a pretty decent relationship with my mom, but was grateful (#4!) for this message, because it told me that God really wants me to accept her even more fully, appreciate her beyond the mundane, and use affirmation to build her up at any turn, no matter the situation. I was so moved during the service, that I shed tears, and I was truly touched, thinking of my mother and my life, and I how I can do better and not blame her for things beyond her control. As the pastor said, “You didn’t choose your mother, but she didn’t choose you either.” That really rang true for me and I was grateful to hear it (#5!).
Although a bit redundant, I must give thanks again (#6) for the LarBear, for being my rock, for being my everything, for always being there. Mother’s Day is a difficult time for me, as I struggle with my own choices long ago not to have children, and I see what a positive impact so many women are making in the lives of their children. Facebook was particularly hard to look at this weekend, but while I am sad and lonely and regretful about never having children, I am also thankful (#7!) that I have never brought a human into this world that I wasn’t fully able to take care of. Some people were meant to be aunts, and dog moms, and that is enough for me. It is hard to swallow sometimes, but I am grateful for the decision.
And in no particular order, to close out the post, I am thankful for:
8. Instagram and the wonderful people, beautiful and meaningful pictures and posts, and the ability to interact more with my sister through it.
9. The birthday that keeps on giving, LarBear and I are booked for a two-night trip starting next week to the Kansas Cosmosphere, and we are thrilled!
10. The confidence I have found in crafting, where if I see it, I now believe I can do it, and I DO THE THINGS. Thank heavens for a creative mind.
Re-purposing a spiral-bound day calendar into something pretty and funky for the desk. Who doesn’t like peacocks?!
RosieSmrtiePants 
I am glad you found a church that fills your mind and soul. The sermon you discussed sounds very relevant and applicable to almost all mother/daughter relationships. Although I have my own children, being a fun aunt to many nieces and nephews is very fulfilling. Hope you continue to have a good week.
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Thank you! I hope you have a great week as well!
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I was delighted to see that you’ve joined us for TToT this week, it really is such a great form of therapy for reminding us of all that has been good. I love your analogy of the comfy old sweater!
It sounds like you’ve found a great church to attend, with messages that are meaningful and useful! My grown kids are so awesome at telling me the things they appreciate in me as a mother, which is so uplifting when we tend to focus on the things we didn’t do as well. I know several people who were either unable to have children or have chosen not to, and yes it can make Mother’s Day feel a little sad, as it does for those of us who have lost their mothers. But just as you noted, there are many kinds of mothering, including being an awesome auntie and a mom to furkids! I know that God smiles on all the love and care you give out into the world. You made a very difficult choice early in your life, and I pray you can find peace in knowing it was right for you, each person has different roles to play. ❤
I am glad to read that dealing with the painful toenail removals (my husband has gone through that) didn't totally derail your week. It is hard to be at your best when your life and routine are interrupted. I hope this is a much better week for you! 🙂 As I remind my daughter all the time, it's just a difficult moment in time, not a bad month or a bad life. We can always come back to refocus on what we have that is good in spite of the day to day struggles that don't always make life easy.
Instagram is such a delightful way to catch up on what's happening in the lives of friends and family. We are so blessed to be able to take instant photos and share them in this way. I am old enough to remember a time when taking pictures, getting them developed and printed, and then sent off to share was so cumbersome and expensive that it didn't happen often. Photos and Facebook have brought me closer to my sisters too!
Your upcoming visit to the Kansas Cosmosphere sounds awesome, I hope you have a wonderful time!
I love that you have found new confidence in your ability to take on craft projects and complete them successfully. There is something about holding an item in our hands that we have made that feels so good! They are fun to share as gifts made with love too!
Have a blessed week ahead, and thank you for sharing your thankfuls with us! XOXO
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Thank you for your lovely comment and for stopping by. You are truly a supportive blog friend to have!
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I, too, am a furbaby mum and made the decision a good while ago to not have children. I know that I have far too much I want to do in my life and having a child would not add to that. I do look at children and how wonderous they are and wonder whether i would have been a good mum. I think I would have struggled. What I find fascinating is that children live so much in the here and now and we can learn lots from them. But be assured that being an aunt or a furbaby mum is just as precious 🙂
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Completely agree with what you have said here. Thank you for stopping by!
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As many people who are singing the praises of their relationships with their kids, there are more which are seriously toxic — and not so loudly sung. You made a perfectly sensible choice and many people make the same choice for a wide variety of reason. I know a fair number of very busy people who decided they could barely manage careers and a marriage, much less children too and took a pass. Garry did not want children and we didn’t have any. Owen is from a previous marriage.
Children are wonderful until they are not so wonderful. There are a lot of mothers I wish weren’t. Some of those happy mothers have less than joyful children. It’s interesting how different the perspectives can be from child to parent and back again.
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Thank you for the validation, Marilyn! I know in my heart of hearts that choosing to never have children was the very best choice I could have made. It is always good to hear from other people who have made similar choices.
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Like a comfortable old sweater. Love that. So true.
I am blessed because I have no issues with my own mother, but I know that isn’t all that common, or so I’ve seen in recent years.
I find Mother’s Day difficult sometimes too. Being an aunt is my greatest role, but I sometimes wish I were a mother of my own children. I may never get to experience what that is like and I am working on being okay with that.
Glad you have found ways to put all that into perspective for yourself.
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I think it is a constant working on ourselves that we have to do, to really accept what so many people take for granted and don’t ever question. Thank you for stopping by!
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I don’t have children and it was my choice. Sometimes it makes me sad but I can’t say I regret my decision. What crafts do you do? I crochet and sometimes cross stitch and I love to spray paint most anything.
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I don’t think I necessarily regret my decision. I know that having children would be a bad idea, unfair to both me and any offspring.
For crafts, I mostly make jewelry and do random things with paper (like origami stuff or collaging, etc) but I am always down for a new challenge. Spray paint sounds fun!
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excellent Post… both in content and form*
I agree, blogging is an enjoyable past time like no other. (the closest thing I can think of would be to make up a book in your head, one sentence ahead of the sentence you’re reading.)
*I get as much from coming up with different ways to present the Ten Things of Thankful as I do the Items themselves. imo, this is one of the thing about this bloghop that has made it as successful as it has been, to tell stories that offer glimpses into our respective lives…. very cool
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Thank you for noticing the form, Clark…it is one of the things that keep writing interesting, and I think many folks do not notice. Also, I love the thought about blogging being making up a book in your head, one sentence ahead of time…love that!
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It is wonderful when a message speaks to our hears, whether it is in messages shared at the pulpit or in conversations with friends or family.
Coming to understand and coming to terms with decisions made long ago can be difficult and also revealing, but one grows through the experience. That is what life is all about. There are good experiences and not so good experiences, but it is the lessons we learn that matter and what we do with that knowledge.
It is wonderful that you recognize your creativeness. I’m sure that your crafts bring joy to yourself and to others. 🙂
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Thank you for stopping by! I agree, it is the lessons in life that matter. And my crafts do bring me a good bit of joy, so, I am very grateful to have the knack for that sort of thing!
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