Nuffnang

Friday 23 March 2012

52 Weeks of Grateful - Joining in late...

I have not written a post for Maxabella's 52 Weeks of Grateful since, well since it became 52 Weeks of Grateful!  This week I have been reading through my own blog and decided I should re-enter this linky as it is a good thing to think about being grateful instead of just letting the good stuff in life pass you by unnoticed.

Reading through one of the things that struck me is the sadness I have about the negative situation that exists with The Workaholics family.  See these posts here for a bit of the back story if you are wondering, but feel free to avoid the negativity!  It is sad that my boys don't have a functional relationship with their cousins, Aunts and Uncle or Poppy on that side of the family, but I am so grateful for the family that we have made and chosen for ourselves.  The people who we have chosen to be in our family.  The friends that we consider our family now.  Some of them are our cousins and their kids (isn't it weird how sometimes you need that little bit of distance to appreciate a family tie?).  They are real constants in my kids lives and I think that is really important and I am grateful for that every single day. 

Alain Pelletier


I am grateful every day for our continued good health.  I see situations around me where a parent or a child is ill and it breaks my heart.  I pray we can continue without one of these stories being included in our family history.

It was a struggle for me to be completely comfortable with the choice of school that we made, but it turns out that it was a good one and I am so grateful that people pushed me into it.  The Little Man is thriving.  His teacher is in tune with him and his specific needs.  He is blossoming.  It is like finding something that had been lost for so long you almost forgot what it looked like.  The Little Man is back.  So thankful for the weird and twisting route that led us here, I can not imagine him anywhere else.

Grateful can not describe how I feel about the Workaholic's work situation.  He has been so pro active and even though he could not find a job in Sydney, he chose not to go interstate and instead made himself a job.  So great.  Such a relief all round.  I don't think he or the kids would have liked him working away.

On a similar note, I am so grateful for all of the people who supported us over the Summer of Unemployment both financially and spiritually.  You can really tell who your friends are in times like these.  I love you all, especially you, Mum.  My Mum was so in tune with what was happening she would somehow manage to be on the phone before I even knew I needed to talk to her.  In my Mum's true form, she would have answer to whatever the problem was, prepared and ready to put into action.  She is AMAZING.

Anyway that's a few of the things I am grateful for this week, there are many more of course but I am a bit teary about the last one and I need to stop.

Take yourselves over to Maxabella Loves... for a bigger dose of Grateful.  It is very good for the soul!!


12 comments:

  1. It's so good to see you, Sam! I'm just delighted.

    We grew up without a solid extended family network. It was distance, not dysfunction, but we did ok regardless. I did miss having cousins sometimes, but we had some really good, close friends through our parents. Kids who were separate to your school friend crew. That is almost the same thing, I think.

    Your mum sounds amazing, Sam. x

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    1. She is!
      We have some lovely friends who are also a bit family-less.
      My cousin and I have reconnected since we had kids and she is my local family. As neither of have sisters we recently decided that we would be sisters from now on. It's a good substitute I think.

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  2. What an amazing list of gratefuls.
    I think the extended friend family is essential...mine certainly is...and I know my kids benefit as well

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    1. Kids need a Village don't they? Ours are mostly local now so it is a good, functional family!

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  3. friends truly are the bomb aren't they and if you're really really lucky, you'll have some great friendships within your family.

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    1. Yes, my side is pretty good. The Workaholic adopted my parents when he was a teenager (last year he wanted to take their surname!). They've been Ma and Pa to him for most of his life and he loves some of my cousins.

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  4. We don't have any family here and I am sad my kids rarely see their cuss, but so grateful for all the friends that make up our support team. Sounds like you have an incredible amount of support which is wonderful.

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    1. It is my kids missing out on their cousins that I find the saddest. My brother & SIL have a daughter my Munchkins age and I expect at least another from them so at least they will have cousins they see.

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  5. I grew up without any close cousins, the ones I did have we only saw maybe once every couple of years. I always wanted my kids to have a great extended family, and they do, not a huge one, but it is great to see them have connections with their cousins. But you are right, family is more than family, it is friends and the ones we choose to have close to us. Lovely post.

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    1. Thanks. I have reconnected with a few of my older cousins in the last few years, thanks to Facebook. There is hope that they will have a relationship some time.

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  6. Yes, during hard times we know who are there for us. You have much to be grateful for, even though things have been stressful for you and your family.

    Hugs to you Sam! xx

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I read them all and try very hard to reply.