This post is mostly for me, but I went ahead and posted it in hopes that it helps your way of thinking as well.

Today is my 34th birthday. I know that after you turn 30 birthdays just aren’t what they used to be. You get busy, you have kids, you don’t have the energy, etc.

So, when I woke up this morning I honestly wasn’t all that excited, and that made me get into a bad mood quickly. My husband is playing golf most of the day because my brother-in-law is in town (for only one day), Miller is sick (she has Roseola) and has just been super whiny and hard to manage because of it, and I am super pregnant (currently in the uncomfortable stage) so it isn’t like I can drink or go do anything fun. WOE IS ME, RIGHT? Ugh so wrong.

As I am walking down the stairs in this horrible woe is me state of mind I am instantly hit in the head (literally). By what you ask? By a banner my insanely sweet husband had spent his morning stringing up. Then as I walk further my feet start bumping into all of the balloons he took his time to blow up for me. Then I hear the squeals and pitter patter of my daughter’s little feet as she barrels into my arms. My husband is then walking towards me to give me my morning hug and kiss and I see the beautiful roses and my birthday card sitting there on the kitchen counter. And now I am crying while writing this. How for one second could I have even thought WOE IS ME?

We are only human. When things seemingly aren’t going our way it is easy to get sucked into the woe is me stage. The stage where you are wishing for more, for better. And sometimes it takes reading a post like this, or getting your head whacked by a birthday banner, to realize how wrong your way of thinking is.

If you are currently stuck in this woe is me stage, I just ask that you take the next 5 minutes out of your day to write out what you are thankful for. If you have a pen and paper handy write it on that. If you are on the go then put it into the notes on your phone. Just make sure you get it down somewhere.

Here are mine:

5 Things I am Thankful For

1 How can I not start with my family? I seriously have the most amazing husband in the world whom I love so incredibly much. I am so thankful he found his way into my life. Miller is the light of my life and I hate that she isn’t feeling herself lately. I hope she feels better soon but I am thankful it wasn’t anything more serious. I don’t ever want to think about what my life would be without them.

2 I am thankful for this baby growing inside of me. I think it is easy to get sucked into the complaints of pregnancy and forget to stop for a second and realize how blessed we are. So many women have lost babies this year and so many other women are having trouble conceiving. Pregnancy may be uncomfortable and it may not fit well with your lifestyle but it is only for a very short amount of time. The reward at the end is worth every second and something we should remember to be thankful for daily. Every movement lately may send a jolt of pain up into my ribs, but I am so thankful for each tiny kick because he is a healthy baby boy and any kind of movement is a good sign!

3 I am thankful my family and friends are all healthy. That is saying a lot these days. I am constantly thinking of how COVID19 has affected our lives and all of the inconvenience it has caused. BUT, everyone I know is healthy and safe and that is everything. The rest will work itself out over time. Life will go on. We will get back to our ‘normal’ way of life eventually.

4 I am so thankful for this incredible job. I HAVE A JOB. There are so many out there struggling to keep their jobs, or are struggling with the unknown. And there are so many out there are currently unemployed. This job allowed me to move across states, it allows me to be at home with my family, and it allows me to do something I love! I have never felt that this job has been a burden, but if you have that way of thinking just remember those who are in a very different situation. This past year I had a couple of very hard road bumps when it comes to my work. If I catch myself dwelling in those issues I just remind myself that I still  have this job and I am so thankful for that!

5 I am thankful for you guys. You truly keep me and this job going. I love our chats over dms and I just am so thankful every day of your constant support.

I am also thankful that when Troy gets home I will now be in a GREAT MOOD for him, because I know how much me having a great birthday means to him too <3.

Since we ARE all human, it is totally normal for us to complain and for us to feel as though things are inconvenient or unfair. For now, when we start to feel that way about something let’s just try to remember this post and turn our thinking into something positive. Turn it into something instead that you are thankful for. It is a pretty easy task when you think about it. Ex: If you are heading to the grocery store and run into bumper to bumper traffic it is so easy to instantly be in a horrible mood and think about all of the wasted time you will be sitting in your car. Instead, be thankful you have a working car, that you can pay for the gas to drive that car, that you can pay for all the groceries you are heading to get, for the people you will be returning home to, and the list goes on and on.

This way of thinking instantly helped me this morning. I hope it helps one of you too!

xox Amanda