What a mixed bag September is for me. One of my favorite, happiest, most sad, and least favorite month all at the same time. More good than bad, but why does the bad have to be so bad? But I try to keep in mind, it could always be worse.
Let's start my blessing counting with a positive. September 2011 marks ten years of Craig and I living together. We were so young. I am sure a lot of people doubted it would last long. I remember the day we moved in. HE picked the furniture. That's right. HE did. (With the help of his Dad). We ended up with leather couches (faux leather, of course), a nice kitchen table that now resides in my Dad's kitchen, and a sage green/oak bedroom set that now resides in his sister's bedroom! We just bought a new bedroom set after all of these years, upgraded to a King size bed, and I am in love. Start counting... He did pretty good. I remember all of the freezing cold Minnesota mornings. Who am I kidding, the cold Minnesota mornings, days, evenings, and nights... I don't miss you Minnesota!
September is one of my favorite months because it is the beginning of Fall. My absolute favorite season. I love jeans, cute flats, cardigans, and dressing the kids in cute, layered clothes. I love the colors, the weather, and letting chili cook in the crock pot all day long. I love going to the pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins and decorating them with the kids. Start counting...
My sister just lost a co-worker at her daycare center. I didn't know her. I didn't know her daughter. All I know is that she was gone in a heartbeat, and that little girl doesn't have a mommy anymore. And her Daddy has never been a part of her life. I know she'll be well taken care of by other family members, but it's just not the same. It really broke my sister's heart. And mine too. And it made me think. Start counting...
September is also sad for many, if not all Americans. I'm sure many of you have thought about where you were when 9/11 happened. I'm sure you watched some of the 10 year "Looking Back" specials. I did. And then I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't get those images out of my head. I couldn't stop thinking about when I would tell Callie what happened, how I would say it, and how you explain what pure evil and hate can breed, without scaring her. That was just the extreme, right? I will only have to explain ONE terrorist attack of that magnitude to her, right? The truth is we don't know. We don't know if the terrorists are planning another attack. We don't know who the target would be, although I doubt it'd be where I live. We don't know if, when, or how many more times. I pray that it will never be that bad again. I thank God it wasn't worse. Because it could always be worse, right? I pray to God that we have seen the worse. This has always been a happy day in our family because it's my Dad's birthday. It's not supposed to be a sad day. And most people would say that if I cry and am sad all day that the terrorists win. I don't see it that way. I cry for the families who have lost their loved ones, the soldiers out there still fighting, the heroes that are looking down from Heaven, feeling no more pain, no more fear, and are finally at peace. I can't imagine going through that. And that's why it's so important, and I hope you aren't sick of hearing me talk about this, SO important to be thankful for every day you have. It's not like people only die from terrorist attacks. People are dying every day. Babies, children, teenagers, adults, senior citizens, are all sadly dying. You are not promised a tomorrow. Spend every minute you can with the people you love. Tell them you love them. Don't sweat the small stuff. Keep a positive attitude. Know that someone always has it worse than you, no matter how bad you think you have it. Count your blessings. Be kinder than you were yesterday. Thank God for the gifts in your life. Hug your little ones every chance you get. They grow up too fast. Listen to your friends, invest yourself in them. Play with your kids. Whenever I am in a bad mood, chaos has broken out and I have 8 children under the age of 5 unhappy, you know how I turn it around? I turn on music. Loud. And we dance and dance and dance. And within minutes, everyone is smiling and happy, including me. Keep counting...
I will try to stop all of the "preaching" about how you should live your life:) It is your life, you can do whatever you want. I just feel like we waste so much time with negativity. I have some friends who have gone through unimaginable pain. From losing a loved one, children who are sick and won't be getting better, children losing their parents, it all just shakes me to the core. The fragility of life and how in an instant it can all be gone. If you are reading this, I probably consider you an important person in my life. I count you as a blessing. And if I'm counting up all of those in my life, I can't even count that high. Thank you Lord. Here's to promising a less serious post next time, and that you have so many blessings in your life, you can't even stop counting for second.
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