gratitude #5

the high line, manhattan

there is so much beauty in the world.

i know it's easy to get wrapped up in the fallen aspects of our world. they're in our faces all the time, and i'm not saying we should ignore them. it's just that too often i get completely stuck there. and i don't want to.

because there's beauty too. there is so much beauty in the world.

shinnecock bay, long island

peter and i took a trip to nyc this past weekend for an early 10th anniversary celebration. we trekked around parts of manhattan, and brooklyn, and drove around long island all day on saturday.

we always pack a lot into our trips, and this one was no different. but part of seeing such a huge city is seeing what's possible on the high end, and on the low end of life. we saw new skyscrapers being built right down the road from homeless people sleeping in the park.

the high line

we walked miles upon miles upon miles {37.27 miles for the three days we were there according to my fitbit readouts}.

prospect park, brooklyn

and while i may not be super well-rested at the end of it, i am incredibly grateful.
we came back to our fairly average house in the suburbs - which is effectively a palace compared to most new york apartments.
we came back to two very excited kids who had their own adventures at nana & papa's place while we were gone.
we came back with some fresh adventures under our belts.

hudson yards, the high line

prospect park, brooklyn

we were both getting a little antsy - it had been a little while since we had really adventured anywhere.

i am grateful for the life that we have, even if i complain about it more often than i'd like to admit.
i am so very grateful for our kiddos. and right now i'm kind of baffled and beside myself because tomorrow our baby girl turns two.

she already says she's two if you ask her, but tomorrow is the day. two years have flown by, and yet it also seems like such a long time ago that we brought her home from the hospital. i'll have a lot more to say about that in the next few days, i'm sure. right now i'm still kind of in denial that she's really no longer a baby.

i am grateful for a gym membership with childcare workers that my kids love. it seems like such a small thing, but it keeps me sane.

i am grateful.

grand army plaza, brooklyn

i am grateful that peter only travels some for work. not every week. not all the time. just here and there. most of the time he's here experiencing the ins and outs of our days with me.

i am grateful for this time with my kids while they're small. while it's hands-on and hard. while they still want to cuddle after their naps. while they still take naps.

it's not always easy to be grateful. but when i take a step back i realize how much i have to give thanks for. it's easy to wish for a different time of life. sometimes we get nostalgic for times that are not right now because we remember things differently than they happened.

but i only have right now. i can't get back to yesterday, and i'm not guaranteed tomorrow.
so today, i'm choosing gratitude.

i'm choosing gratitude. i'm trying not to get wrapped up in what i don't have, and where i'm not, but instead give thanks for all that i have. even when i feel like i'm failing. because so much of life is about effort and attitude.

i'm giving thanks for grandparents coming to visit today. i'm giving thanks for my daughter's birthday - mind-blowing though it is. i'm giving thanks for new friendships and old. i'm giving thanks because my son is about to start another year of preschool in less than two weeks, which has him so excited. i am grateful for the life i've been given.

shinnecock bay, long island

what are you grateful for today?

xoxo