This week, I am thankful for…

This week was ROUGH. Even as I type now, I am feeling stressed and frantic and anxious. I’m out of sorts and unsettled. I hate that.

The demands on my time this week outweighed the time I had to meet them. At this very moment, I’ve got emails I know I need to read and respond to and a toddler refusing to nap.

I went into this week with some pretty big expectations and, as I end this week, those expectations are unmet. It’s ok. It’s probably for the best, the way things turned out. But it all adds a bit more resistance to my walk through the day.

Weeks like this are what thankfulness Friday was made for. Because despite all of this, I am still blessed.

This week, I am thankful for…

… toddler hugs and the instant calm they bring.

… my husband – his unwavering ability to stay steady when my emotions make me wobbly, his infinite patience, his endless pursuit of an unstressed me, and his brain.

… wine. (yes, a repeat visitor to this Friday list; can you blame me?).

… babysitters.

… cookies.

… extra morning pajama time.

… Christmas music.

… family who actively carve out time to spend with us.

… text messages that remind me that time with friends is so important.

… my little corner of the Internet here – where I preserve even the tiniest memories with my daughter and where I meet so many wonderful people to share those memories with me.

… recreating childhood memories with my daughter.

… starting new holiday traditions.

… a moment to take a deep breath.

… hope for the future.

And here, on the other side of this post, I feel calmer, my inbox hasn’t seen a new email since I sat down, and the toddler is asleep. There is magic in these thankful Fridays.

Happy weekend, peeps. Hope you’re getting your holiday spirit on. I know we will be.