A Grateful Heart

Disclaimer: This is going to be the MUSHIEST post to date and not fully tied to Blackbelly Ranch! And no, it’s not just because Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.

We’ve been busy as usual around here and preparing to process our turkey for the big day! We are very excited about our farm-to-table meal this year. But this is not really what I wanted to share with y’all. 

I’ve struggled to be present the past few weeks. I’ve let the stress of my job bleed into my personal life and affect what matters most to me – my family. Prime example: the elementary school does birthday celebrations in the cafeteria during lunch. A parent can place an order for cupcakes and juice boxes and the Cafeteria Manager delivers them and has the entire cafeteria sing Happy Birthday. It’s AMAZING! She makes them their own birthday bag and everything. I was so distracted that I told her the wrong day so everything was delivered far too early and I also missed it. I also failed to get birthday invites made so the day has been taken by another kid that my youngest had planned on inviting so he’s not thrilled with me. Big fail on my part. 

I’m the type of person that likes to control and plan everything. I’m very regimented, and as a result, I put a lot of pressure on myself to get things done a certain way. This serves me well in a lot of ways but it also can make me a bit of a monster when I try to control things (and people) that I simply have no control over. There have been times the past few weeks where I should have been kind, and instead I was snippy. Where I should have been patient, I was petulant. And where I should have been grateful, I was grumpy. 

So as night after night this past week of ending the day with a massive migraine, and receiving five-star treatment I surely didn’t deserve (head rubs, hugs, and little boys who covered me with blankets as I lay on the couch), I realized that I needed to make a conscious decision to stop, breathe, and focus on all of my blessings. I need to stop allowing external noise to impact me in a way that impacts all the people I am so fully grateful for and what drives my actions. 

Yes, my job is important to the extent that it provides an income we need, but it’s not a job that matters more than all I’ve been blessed with already. My primary focus needs to be God, family, and then all else, not the other way around. This past week has been the wake up call I needed to remember that. Not sure about y’all, but I’m human and tend to twist my priorities around occasionally.

As we go into Thanksgiving, I am forever grateful for my husband as we get ready to celebrate 14 years of marriage! I’m grateful for my boys who bring joy, silliness, and laughter to our home. I’m grateful for our home and land that has been a perfect fit for our family. I’m grateful for all of my family who supports us in every way on our homesteading journey. Despite the stress I’ve been under (some of it self-induced), I’m also grateful for a job that provides financially and challenges me. 

This morning as I watched my boys run around outside with their BB Guns taking cover behind trees and shooting invisible bad-guys, I reminded myself to be GRATEFUL and find the joy. I put on my boots, bundled up, and grabbed the last BB Gun and ran out to find that child-like wonder. We ran circles around the dogs and laughed and made memories together. I’m not thinking about my to-do list (yet, anyways). I want to be in the moment with my family and cherish our memories and time. I want them all to know how important they are and how they are my blessings. This is the mindset I need to continually take day after day because the time truly flies and you never know what tomorrow may bring. 

We’re about to enter a high-stress season! Holidays, figuring out finances perhaps, family-gatherings, and everything else this season may bring, I hope anyone reading this remembers to just be grateful for all that’s in front of you right now. There are a million things that could go wrong at any point during the day that you cannot control, so let it go! Say a prayer, have a warm bath, breathe, do anything that’ll snap you back into the moment so that you can enjoy all that you are grateful for. 

As you sit around your tables for Thanksgiving with your family and friends, share the love and let it be known what each of those people mean to you. 

Happy Thanksgiving!