So often we get stuck in the day-to-day hustle and forget to acknowledge what’s really important. If someone were to ask “What’s most important to you?” we would be quick to respond with things like family, friends, being a good person, and so on. Unfortunately, we allow ourselves to get sidetracked a lot and temporarily “forget” our priorities. Unanswered emails clamor for our attention, deadlines and “to-do” lists clutter up our minds and steal our attention. As a way to temporarily silence these outside distractions, I like to look back over the past month and remind myself what is beautiful in my life. I try to identify three things that have happened in the past few weeks that I am grateful for and recognize them. I remind myself that these are what make up my life and have value. And for them, I am grateful.

Top 3 Things I’m Grateful for in December

1. Christmas.
   I love Christmas. I’m one of those people that puts up the tree right after Thanksgiving. No matter how much my husband wants argues against it. And I don’t turn the lights off until after New Years.
2. My Birthday!
   I am now 32. My birthday isn’t as special as when I was a kid, but it’s always a nice day to reflect back on the year and think about the next one. Since it falls on a holiday, I always get to spend that time with family.
3. Zachary’s growth and development.
   He has grown leaps and bounds in the past month. Since the beginning of the month he’s started to associate words with the meanings. He’s learned to climb and his physical abilities like balance and rhythm have really progressed. His curiosity about everything from food to how things works has increased 10-fold. He’s also suddenly able to sort shapes and is trying to use things for the purpose. For example, he’s recently been trying to brush the dogs and his own hair. It’s so amazing how much he can progress in such a short time.