Thankful

I had had plans to do a "12 days of gratitude" or "26 days of gratitude" post series on this blog on the days leading up to Thanksgiving, but for whatever reason (though I have been making little daily posts of gratitude on Facebook--at least when I get on, which hasn't been for about a week) I didn't get started until now. I have been reflecting a lot lately on some specific acts of kindness others have shown me over the years that I am very thankful for and I would like to now share some of those here.

(*Note: These are in no particular order, and though many of them center around pregnancy and childbearing, no, I am not currently pregnant. Maybe it is because I have been thinking how I don't want to get pregnant that these acts of kindness have been on my mind.)

I am thankful for my oldest son. A year and half ago, when I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with his younger brother, he slept in every morning until 10:30, 11:00, and sometimes as late as noon. Though I was not nearly as sick with his brother's pregnancy as I was with his, I still was pretty nauseous. However, I found that if I could sleep through the morning, I missed most of the nausea. If J. hadn't slept in all those mornings, I wouldn't have been able to too. When the second trimester started and the nausea passed and my energy returned, J. started waking up around 7:30 in the morning again, and that was OK. Thank you, son.

I am thankful for Meredith. While I was laboring in the hospital with my youngest, Meredith, who is a labor and delivery nurse, came into hospital on her night off to be my nurse. Having her there made what was already a miraculous (though very painful) experience all the better. Since A. was taking his time, Meredith had to leave before the actual delivery, but she left me in very capable hands. On my last night at the hospital, Meredith was my nurse and was kind enough to come talk with me when some baby blues hit and I started to cry. She later took some pictures around midnight of Jon, me, and our baby, since we didn't have any of the three of us at the hospital yet. It may not seem like much, but to me at that moment, it meant a great deal, and I love having the pictures to look back on. She also did A.'s newborn portraits, throwing in some family portraits and James' 2-year-old portraits as well. I made a book with the images and I love it.

I am thankful for Heather. We lived in the same apartment complex when we were both pregnant with our first. On many occasions, she had me over for lunch, making her special double-cheese Mac'n'cheese with black pepper on it. It was hardly gourmet, but we pregnant low-income non-spoiled ladies love it. To this day, I still have to use two cheese packets when I make Mac'n'cheese.

I am thankful for Emily. Oh, Emily! How I miss you! Emily and I used to live next door to each other and I spent a lot of time over at her apartment (she had kids, I didn't). When I was going through my major depressive episode in 2005, her friendship (along with Heather's) was one of my greatest therapies. After I was well, she kept me sane. When I was pregnant with J., she would let me come over and throw up in her toilet and cry on her couch (some prenatal depression was setting in), without ever judging me. Having graduated from college and being too sick to work (my pregnancy with J. was really rough; I vomited for eight months), she provided me adult interaction that is so necessary for wellbeing. Oh, blessed Emily! Later, when Jon's brother died, Emily took 3-month-old J. for a night while we mourned. That night, I was able to let out all my emotion, holding nothing back like I would have done if I had my baby to take care of. Though I still had a lot of mourning left to do after that first night, having Emily watch J. that night helped tremendously.

I am thankful for Heidi. She makes me laugh. While I was in the middle of my three days of intense back labor with A., she had me laughing with a comment on my blog. She has also inspired me more this past year than she could ever realize, just by being herself. And of course, she introduced me to the novel, Gone With the Wind. I am a fan.

I am thankful for Charlene. She took A.'s 3-month portraits at no charge to me, including giving me the edited images on CD. She how now started her own photography business and she is one of my inspirations on getting into photography myself (Meredith being the other).

I am thankful for Jon. Oh, my dear sweet loving husband, Jon! I have written about him before, and all that stuff is still true, but here is a specific example of what he does for me: every Sunday, though he is tired himself, he lets me take a long nap after church while he watches the kids. I am so thankful for that nap!

Oh, there are so many more people I would like to thank. Laura, Jenni, Emily J., and Joanna for often leaving comments on my blogs. (And for Laura asking my opinion on photography, like I was a real photographer--that made me feel good. :)) Karla for being the type of visiting teacher whose friendship isn't merely "assigned" (and for hosting the only giveaway I've ever won!). Nicole for going to the zoo with me one day two and half years ago. Lesta for liking my asparagus deli wraps. Steph for watching my kids while I was at the dentist (Heidi did that too, thank you). Juli for watching my kids while I was at the doctor's. Sarah, sweet Sarah for being so awesome in nursery and teaching me everything I needed to know to take over for her as the leader; I am going to miss you so much. Why do you have to move? My four parents for a million things. My youngest for being a champion nurser from the start and helping me shed some extra pounds. And so many more people I don't have time now to write about. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My kids are crying for my attention now. I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving.

Love,

Becca