The Little Things

This morning as I was driving my children to school, it hit me how incredibly blessed I am.  I am in my early-mid thirties and living my dream.  The dream I have had since I was a little girl.  The dream of my knight in shining armor, my dream home, and my children.  So, my knight in shining armor is a draftsman by day, a soundman by evening and Sundays, and a bible college student by night.  He is a hunter when time allows, and provides meat for our family.  My dream home, well we aren't quite there yet.  We live in a very nice home in a wonderful neighborhood, but not quite the dream home yet.  A nice thing about being married to a draftsman, is I can tell him what I want in your dream home and he can draw it for me.  My children, oh what amazing blessings they are.  What intricate, individual people they are.  Sometimes, I look at them and am in awe that they each came from the exact same parents and gene pool and yet they are so different.  We have one that is very confident, kind, and a go-getter.  We have one that is not as confident and a free spirit.  And we have one that is a confident, bold, non-conformist.  It is amazing trying to individually parent each child while having a common goal for them as a whole.  I am so blessed that my children are individuals and don't just go with the flow.  They are definitely leaders in their own right.

I remember this time of year about seven years ago, I was working at a job I hated. My boss didn't support the fact that I was a mother and had a small child in day care. I would drop my oldest off at daycare and drive to work everyday in tears and crying.  I would pray that I would be able to be a stay at home mom by the end of the year.  I quit January 2, after a Christmas vacation from my job.  That was the easiest and best choice I have ever made.  At first, it was hard going from a dual income home to a single income home.  Our income was cut by more than half when I quit.  We had years of hard financial times.  I went from literally buying a new wardrobe every weekend for each of us, having a lot of extra amenities, and eating out daily to not being able to afford new underwear, no cable or internet, and eating packaged food at home.  Oh, it was difficult financially.  But, through the seven years we have learned a lot of lessons.  We are now living comfortably within our means.  We have added two children and a cat to our family. We are so blessed.

I am blessed to be a stay at home mom.  During trainings at my old job, one question often asked was "what is your dream job", my response would always be "a stay at home mom."  The other employees would often laugh at me or ridicule my answer.  I stuck to my guns and look at me now!  I am blessed that I can do what I want to do without asking for leave or worrying too much about schedules.  Just this morning I was able to have coffee with a sweet friend, visit another friend, and bring my husband and the secretary in the office coffee.  I also had a parent/teacher conference with one of my children's teacher. I am so blessed to be able to spend my days cleaning my home or hanging out with my friends.  I can be at all of my children's school activities and be an active room mom and PTA Board member.

I wish I could bottle up this blessed feeling I have today and just give it to each person.  Today I have a smile on my face.  I have a pep in my step.  I am blessed, and it is not because of just one big thing, but lots of little things.