You know how there are days that you just say to yourself, UGH is this day ever going to be over? Do I have to wake up and do this? We all have BAD days, but you know that saying "A bad day does not mean a BAD life!?" Well, it's true. Life can be so much worse. Just because you have a bad day or bad report or bad anything doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

In certain moments, even certain days I catch myself thinking ugh, is it 8pm yet? (Bedtime in our house). Or why do I have to attend this event or can everybody just leave me alone for a little peace and quiet! The fact is we all need a little peace for our sanity sometimes, we all need a little one on one with ourselves, our partners and even our children. It's important to take that time out for ourselves. The truth about it is ... Some of us can't do that, some of us don't have anyone that can "fill in" for them while they take a minute or a night for themselves. The truth is some of us don't have the luxury of a night out because they are a single parent and maybe live far from family or don't have family left, maybe they can't afford a sitter or maybe they don't trust anyone because they have anxiety or have been in a situation before. The truth is the reason I'm saying all that is because sometimes I'm ungrateful for things that others clearly don't have.

Sitting here really makes me think about the little things I complain about and then how little and LUCKY I am. Even at the end of a rough day, there's always things to be grateful for! For instance ... Breathing, waking up, have a warm bed, roof over my head, food on table... the list goes on. 
Life as I know it is actually pretty great. Don't get me wrong I do not live the perfect life AT ALL, but I do feel blessed with the life I live. Every night before bed, I remind myself of this, I remind myself that even though there was a lot of tantrums, tears, no naptime and bedtime took over an hour, I have to remind myself YOU ARE LUCKY! You wake up... You have 3 HEALTHY, HAPPY (and sad at times) children, who love to play, who love you with all they have no matter how much you suck that day! You are lucky you were able to conceive three babies, carry them on your own, pay for them, afford them, give then food and a bed. You, Jamie, are so blessed.

Like I mentioned before I have days NOTHING is right and I whine about small things, that others can't whine about. EVERY November a lot of people do the 30 days of thankful - some people get annoyed by this social media posting, others join in and people like me took it all in and continue it through the year. During November while doing this 30 days of thankful I realized it reminded me of what I have and what others might not. We all can vent and no one is perfect, no family is flawless and no relationship is full of no fighting. Things like that make relationships and family stronger. By continuing what I call my Grateful posts , I have found myself going to bed smiling more and waking up more grateful - less unhappy. When I hear my babes at night lately - I don't complain ... Thank goodness she's crying, this means she's alive, thank goodness she wants me, this makes me feel alive, thank goodness she wants to be rocked - one day she will be too big.

All these things were becoming so blurry to me, until I start keeping GRATEFUL posts in my planner! I have a perfect spot on my weekly layout that I just write a word, or maybe a sentence, or a person. Really anything to remind me BE GRATEFUL BE THANKFUL! It's nice to look back and see why I'm grateful or who made me feel grateful. For instance, one of my good friends was diagnosed with cancer while she was pregnant. I didn't know her then but after diagnosed I heard her story and we talked and it was like I've known her for years. I can't tell you how many times I say I'm grateful she's in remission, I'm grateful for her perfect, healthy baby boy, I'm grateful we met, I'm grateful to call her my friend! I'm grateful for her in every way and as much as I hate CANCER, I'm grateful that it brought her me and me her. I couldn't imagine not having her around. Her strength and smile are so contagious. She's so courageous and I just I am grateful for her.

She is one example of why I keep this journal - it reminds me of who I'm grateful for and why. My soul sister - I'm so grateful for tee ball! I'm grateful I signed up my son and have met amazing families after 4 years. I'm thankful I got pregnant with my oldest when I did, I think about it every day, he made me a better person, he saved me, he was my reason to finish school and get my Bachelors. I wrote one day I was grateful for the rain, I was grateful to enjoy the gloomy day indoors with movies and all day PJs! I've been grateful for COFFEE a lot lately ... with late night editing ... coffee is a MUST.

My lists of gratefuls could go on and on. Even though I still might complain this keeps me remembering daily how much there is in this world to be grateful for! Try keeping a list - some great spots for them are in the notes page or on the side of the weekly layout. Or use the bottom of the weekly layout as I do.

Why not start today with what you are grateful for?