A Quiet Christmas, A New (to Me) Dresser, So Much Rain: My Tuesday Gratitudes

The last Tuesday of 2021! Unbelievable. I’m so glad I started this practice early this year as it’s been a great way to enter my weeks, take a look at the good in my life, and just generally not get lost in the mundane or annoyances of the everyday. Sometimes, it’s so helpful to stop and be thankful for silly things like cheese and ice cubes and a comfortable pillow, because it leads you to be grateful for the larger things, too, like family, health, time.

I realize in my post yesterday, I didn’t even ask everyone who their holidays were (if they celebrate Christmas). Charles and I spent them at home together, just us two. I woke up to text messages from the East Coast bright and early, FaceTimed all three of my nephews, talked to my parents and siblings numerous times during the day, had the heartiest laugh I’ve had in the longest time at my poor mom’s expense for a recipe gone wrong (she was a good sport as she normally is), watched plenty of movies, cooked until my bones ached, ate tons of treats, got a surprise gift from my neighbor, listened to the rain and settled into bed early. While being with family is always preferred, it wasn’t a bad way to spend the day either. We made the best of our second Christmas in “lockdown” and hopefully, it’s the last one.

The next few days were spent puttering around the house doing things I needed to get done, scouring Craigslist and Facebook marketplace for dressers and changing tables and the like, polishing off the rest of the raspberry jam thumbprint cookies I made and falling asleep in the middle of the day numerous times to terrible Christmas movies on all the streaming services. I go back to work for a few days this week before another long weekend and then I’m in the home stretch before things get very, very real for having this baby. Agh!

So much goodness, so much to be grateful for, including:

I’m grateful for a quiet, lovely Christmas at home with Charles.

I’m grateful for the free Christmas tree we got two days before Christmas (fun fact: if you show up to Lowe’s on December 23 to buy a tree, they may just give it to you for free hahaha).

I’m grateful for a handful of days off of work to rest and get some things done around the house.

I’m grateful for health.

I’m grateful for video chats so that I could still feel close to my family over the holidays.

I’m grateful for days and days of rain and not having to go anywhere.

I’m grateful for finding a secondhand dresser and feeling like my bedroom is finally starting to come together.

I’m grateful for being in the home stretch of growing this little nena and being able to meet her soon (7ish weeks left!).

I’m grateful for kind people in the neighborhood who let me know the local animal shelter needed old linens and blankets and towels so I could purge *and* help the pups and kitties during these chilly LA days and nights.

I’m grateful for gratitude, which can shape how we see our lives.

I’m grateful for you.

See you tomorrow, FOAS.