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Day 149 – 10.10.10

October 10, 2010.  Tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year.

I thought it appropriate to acknowledge the day with a top 1o list.  And seeing as it is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, I thought it even more appropriate to list the top 10 things I am thankful for at this very minute.  I warn you, I’m pretty thankful lately, so it may be mushy.

1.  Wesley and Jaia – together and separately.  These two kids amaze me every day.  They are happy and healthy and wonderful littles.  I adore how much Wesley lights up when he sees his sister and I love that Jaia calls Wes, “her prince”.  I knew I would love being a mom of two, but I didn’t have any idea that it would be this good.

2.  Dan – My husband cooks, cleans, gives baths, feeds, does hair, dresses (sometimes poorly), drives, encourages, hugs, tells bedtime stories and most of all, he loves.  I may not tell him as often as I should, but I never let a day go by without taking a few minutes to remind myself how lucky I am to have him and that I could not do any of this without him.

3.  Family – We have a big family.  A HUGE extended family.  They are spread out between two countries and are mostly much too far away for my liking.  But despite the distance, our family has our back.  Any time we’ve needed help with absolutely anything, they have hopped in a car, on a plane or picked up the phone and were there for us in any way they could be as soon as they could be.   I’m so very thankful for all of them.

4.  Friends – Obvious, yes.  Typical, no.  I am still friends – best friends – with some of the people who signed my yearbook in grade 7 and used ‘BFF’ before using BFF was trendy.  Some of us are going on 24 years.  Together we’ve been through bad clothes, worse hair, braces, true love, broken hearts, hangovers, weddings and funerals and now babies.  These girls love me for who I am and only sometimes remind me of it.  😉  But I’m doubly lucky because not only do I have them, I have met some people later in life who I feel very lucky to also call my friends.  Whether I’ve known them almost a quarter century (wow, that makes me feel old) or just a few months, my friends mean the world to me.   I’m very thankful for each of them.

5.  Health – We have our health.  Beyond the odd cold or flu here and there, Dan, the kids and I are genuinely healthy and I couldn’t be happier about it.

6.  Caffeine – In September 2009 I gave up tea and coffee when i learned I was pregnant.  I didn’t have any throughout the pregnancy and since I made it that long, I decided not to bother starting again.  A few months after Wes was born and we still weren’t sleeping, I played with the idea of starting again but didn’t.  When October rolled around and I realized it had been over a year, I patted myself on the back for being so strong and then immediately threw in the towel.  My first cup was divine.  And every cup since has put a small smile on my face.  I am much, much happier with caffeine in my life.

7.  Job/Maternity leave – In Canada we get a year of maternity leave.  Other countries get as little as a few weeks to a few months.  For the first 365 days of my boy’s life, I get to wake up and spend the day with him.  I am very, very thankful for that – especially since that same little boy still wakes up 2-3 times per night and if I had to go to work in the morning, I’d be a zombie.  Notice ‘sleep’ does not appear on this list – I am still not getting any.

8.  Long weekends – Seriously.  The only thing that improves a long weekend is weather warm enough to enjoy some of it outside.  And that’s all we did over the past few days.  And oh man, does it get prettier than this?

9.  Photography – I was never very good at drawing, or writing.  I never took music lessons and my drama skills are non-existant.  I sort of thought the art gene passed me by.  That is, until I discovered photography.  I love that feeling I get when I take a great shot.  And now, since I started visuelle photography, when someone I’ve taken pictures of write or calls to tell me how happy I’ve made them, I just beam.  I hope to always enjoy it this much.

10.  A waistline – I’m not gonna lie.  Last year at this time my waistline had already started to expand and as much as I love my boy, I’m thrilled to be wearing my normal sized clothes again.  Hello pre-pregnancy jeans!  Welcome back.  Make yourself at home and please, stay as long as you can.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Eat up.  You only get to have a feast like this a few times a year…so you might as well enjoy it.

October 12, 2010 - 6:57 am

Auntie Kris - Such a great post and AMAZING photos! I’m going to get into mine tonight…those trees are spectacular and Jaia was a great little model. 😉

October 13, 2010 - 7:28 am

Carole - I teared up at #2….so much to be thankful for indeed. I love that you put caffeine on the list. It makes me smile every day..:o)

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