GRATITUDE
That's all I have today. You know, as parents we're always trying to instill things in our kiddos, morals, values, faith, things that truly build their character. I think sometimes when we step back as they get older (even times when they're younger) we can learn so much from them. Pat and I have always been brutally honest with our kids. We don't hide our struggles, failures, mistakes. We let them know that we're human too, we still mess up, we still have emotions and faults. It's how we work together to overcome them that matters. I'm not sure how many people are aware but at the end of March Pat and I both lost our jobs. My company was generous with a 60 day paid notice and severance, his was just immediate. As scary and as devastating as it was we knew that our kids were watching how we were going to respond. I know so many families go through this and it's scary and difficult but this is when our faith is generally strengthened the most. Through that we decided to start going back to church instead of just watching online. We are still new and getting plugged in to a new church but we both have felt refreshed and excited about the change. Alaina has willingly been going with us on Sundays which says a lot for a 16 year old to willingly get up on her day off and go to church 😊. We started listening to praise and worship music again, listening to sermons throughout the week, etc to try to stay encouraged. Thankfully Pat found a job and has already started which was a TRUE blessing. I had interviewed with a company several times, was extremely hopeful only to be told they went with someone else and I was back to square one.
Needless to say I was a little disheartened. I'm still forcing myself to get up and look for jobs as if it's my full-time job. Today I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to stay in bed and hide and just wallow. I was texting Alaina while she was at lunch and to say I am proud to be her mom would be an understatement. There have been so many times over this past year that each of us have been going through something and the others are there for encouragement. I always dreaded the teenage years but I have to say, they've been some of my favorite years. Declan will randomly text Pat and I and thank us for encouraging him, helping him, pushing him a little when he needed it to do things scared. But today, Alaina sent me some texts and I was blown away at how mature and encouraging she is. I am blessed beyond measure and grateful for the chance to parent them. I'm so sad that they'll be leaving the "nest" soon but I'm so excited to see where they end up in life. They're both going to do great things!
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