I am a mom, wife and daughter
I am ashamed and I am proud
I am a friend and companion
I am someone who listens and someone who talks
I am someone who cries and someone who laughs
I want to be loved and I want to give love
I want to have friends who are trustworthy and friends who trust me
I forgive and I am forgiven
I have learned from my mistakes and learned from the things I did right
I love seafood but don’t really like the ocean
I am compassionate and when needs be I am stern
I not a nature kind of girl unless it’s the beach, that’s nature at it’s best
I hate my body most days but occasionally I will feel good in my skin
I have days where I feel like a bad mom and days where I know I am the best mom
I can dance. I can’t sing.
I am thankful for my family, my kids and my friends who have stood by me.
I am thankful for a husband who despite the difficult times, more difficult than most weather, has stood by me. I am thankful he loved me enough to stick it out even when I didn’t deserve it. I am thankful he loved me enough to forgive me for the way I treated him. I am thankful that’s what marriage is, it is fighting, it is loving, it is sticking by someone even when you may not want to. Marriage is not easy but when it’s real it’s worth fighting for and for that I am thankful. I am thankful that my husband and I had some very hard times we had to deal with, situations most couples would crumble under, and yet this man I married loved me enough to work it out and I loved him enough to fight for us and it has made us stronger. I am thankful that we made it through those hard times and now have a marriage that is perfect 99% of the time, the other 1% I let him be right LOL. For real though, I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to have him, not many would have stood by what I put him through emotionally, but he did and for that I will forever be thankful. I hit the jackpot with him and I try to let him know it every single day.
I am thankful for my mom who knows everything about me and loved me through mistakes I don’t feel I should have been loved through. I am thankful she was there for me when I had my heart broken to just hold me and tell me I would get over this too. I am thankful for the example her life is to me. I am thankful she is healed. I am thankful she loved me enough to discipline me when I was wrong and to praise me when I was right. I am thankful she loved me enough to teach me about God and raise me to believe in him. I am thankful she cared enough about me to provide a home full of love. I am thankful she allowed me to dance even when times where hard for us. I am thankful for the sacrifices she made for me, because it is what instilled in me the parenting values I want to have. I am thankful she is happy!
I am thankful for my kids, who drive me crazy everyday but without them I could not exist. I am thankful that they run up and love on me even after I have raised my voice to them. I am thankful that they call my name when they get hurt. I am thankful for their personalities. I am thankful for the adoration they have for their parents and thankful that even when we mess up they love us just the same. I am thankful for the ways their eyes light up when they wake up ready to start a new day. I am thankful for their innocence and child like faith, attributes we should all work hard to regain. I am thankful that watching them run and play and pretend make me feel young. I am thankful even when mommy is being goofy they are being goofy right beside me.
I am thankful for my friends. Friends who despite hard times I know I can confide in and they aren’t going to go and break that trust. Friends who are willing to work on a friendship and confront me about things rather than believe lies that are told. I am thankful for friends that are there to comfort me when I cry and even hurt for me, crying in sync. I am thankful for friends who are there to make me laugh when I need to laugh and to support me when I need support. I am thankful for friends who are there to tell be it is going to be okay when I am scared or that it’s okay to be pissed when I am pissed. I am thankful for the friends who lift me and my family up in prayer. I am thankful for friends who laugh at my jokes even when I myself know they aren’t hysterical. I am thankful for friends who accept me for who I am and know that despite the mistakes I made in the past I am a better person having learned from them. I am thankful that they are there to pull me back on the right path when I have started to veer. I am thankful they can just sit with me and say nothing and there is nothing uncomfortable about that silence.
I am thankful for the person who I am. I am thankful that despite all the mistakes I have made, I have learned from them, been forgiven for them, and become a better person. I am thankful that even when someone has treated me horribly I can forgive them and still wish the best for them. I am thankful that I am not judging, it’s not my place to judge, that is only God’s place. I am thankful that I give everyone a chance even if they are the exact opposite of me because I have some of the best people in my life that truly are my opposites. I am thankful I have a God who is forgiving, that he forgives the mistakes I have made and allows me to learn from them. I am thankful that my past is my past and that I can learn from it, let go and move on. I am thankful that I can think for myself and even when a group is doing one thing I can choose to do another. I am thankful I have morals so I can stand up for what is right even when it’s not easy and even when that means I have to say I was wrong. I am thankful I am not a bitter person because life would be miserable for myself and those around me.
I am thankful for this song from Point of Grace especially this one line…
It’s Not who you were and it’s not what you did, it’s how you live
because it is absolutely speaks so much. It’s not about the mistakes we have made, it’s about how you live now. People can either forgive you and move on or hold onto that anger and be bitter. What really matters is that you forgive yourself and remember that it’s not who you were, it’s not what you did, it’s how you live.
Thank you to my friends, family, kids and most of all my husband who has stuck by me through so much I love you all more than you will even know, but I will spend every day forever showing you as best I can how thankful I am for you and how much I love you.
So it’s your turn now, tell me some things/people you are thankful for and why? And what are you thankful about yourself over??
Toni Patton
Latest posts by Toni Patton (see all)
- Sunsets Are My Reminder… - May 27, 2024
- Pensacola Beach’s “Bands on the Beach” 2024 Schedule Announced - February 21, 2024
- When The Baby Goes to College: I’m Not Ready…But, oh, How Ready She Is - August 22, 2023
I am thankful for bloggers such as yourself… and for all the followers I have gained! I am thankful for the ability to write and enjoy doing so!
Toni- You have spoken for me. It's funny how we are all so different yet we are the same. I could have wrote this post.
One other thing I am thankful for is being able to have loved and be loved by those who are now gone. I am thankful for memories.
RachelFerrucci
http://mamarucci.wordpress.com
Great post 🙂 Unfortunately today I'm thankful for nothing because I totally screwed up a year and a half of work on my blog and I'm on the verge of tears. However I learned a very valuable lesson- ALWAYS check those emails you think are junk, they may not be. :p
What a beautiful post! I love how you don't know how to be anything but authentic and genuine.
As for me, I am thankful for friends like you, the dreams and abilities God has put in my heart and my precious hubby and boys!
I'm new to the blog scene but I started following your blog an I just wanted to say I LOVED today's post.
April
http://mommyhoodunscripted.blogspot.com
I am thankful for you.
What a beautiful post. You certainly do have a lot to be thankful for…we all do but sometimes overlook these things. It's good to take time to stop and think about it! Beautifully written!
What a Great post! I am thankful to have parents that love me for me. I am also thankful to have parents that express how proud of me they are. In addition my parent also have called me out on things; making me change my ways. So worth looking under your most recent post!
I'm smiling…I can dance but oh goodness, I can not sing.
I really enjoyed that song, "Wear your red dress, use your good dishes…"
The Vegitales say, A greatful heart is a happy heart! I believe that!
Toni, beautiful words, and yes, there is always something to be thankful for! I am thankful for my family, having lived away from them for 6 yrs has made me appreciate them all the more…
What an awesome post, Toni – sorry I missed it earlier this week, it would have helped me look at things in perspective…but, better late than never! I am thankful for you! 😉
I love this post!! Got me thinning about all the things I am thankful for!!
.-= Jill at “Get Up and Get Moving”´s last blog ..Tips for Weight loss =-.