January was a simple month. With the winding down after the holidays and making arrangements for various things in the coming year, it was overall very calm. Work was a little more stressful and we had some sickness to overcome, but overall it was a pleasant month. Even the weather was rather mild aside from a few days mid-month. For Wisconsin, I can’t really complain! Let’s get into what I’m grateful for this month…

Why a monthly grateful living post?

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 January

1. New Opportunities.
   Ok, so I have to be a little cryptic about this one. There has been a new opportunity that has come up that I’m really excited about. I won’t know for a few more days if it’s going to pan out, but fingers crossed!
2. Zachary’s first cold.
   It’s not that I’m really grateful for the cold itself. I am, however, grateful that we made it through the first cold. And I’m grateful for the way he handled it; he was such a trooper! Aside from waking up a few times during the night (and falling right back asleep) and being stuffy and extra snuggly, he was almost no different than normal. He was just a little lethargic that first day. We all just enjoyed the extra snuggle time and he was back to his normal self within a couple of days.
3. Staying healthy.
   Zach caught his cold from Andy. I’m pretty sure Andy caught it from one of my aunt’s that were both sick in the previous weeks. Then my mom caught it from Zach. Somehow, I managed to avoid catching it, despite snuggling with a sick baby and sleeping next to a sick husband. Whew!

What are you grateful for in this past month?

-To your Better Life-

Kira