At the start of 2016, inspired by a friend, I started a daily gratitude challenge – posting one thing that I was thankful for each day on Instagram. I enjoyed it so much that when I reached the end of that year, I carried on and have kept going ever since. Finding one little thing to be thankful for each day has now become part of my daily routine and I’ve loved seeing friends joining in along the way too.
Finding little things to be grateful for isn’t always easy, especially when living through scary and uncertain times. I have found though that trying to find something, however small and trivial, to be grateful for has helped me through some of the hardest days of my life.
My eldest daughter Jessica, who died in April 2018, was an inspiration to me throughout her short life. She had so much strength and such a wonderful zest for life. Her godmother described her once as a “joy carrier” and it was the perfect description for her. She was a little ray of sunshine, full of smiles and gave joy to all who knew her. I am, and will always be, grateful to be her mummy. She taught me to enjoy the little moments and to make the most of everyday because tomorrow is never promised. And even though having to live life without Jessica is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do, I will continue to look for those little things to be thankful for, and keep going with this challenge in honour of my beautiful brave girl.
Here are my grateful moments from the past week:
Day 173 – I am grateful for dads. Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads in my life – my amazing hubby, my wonderful and much-missed dad, and my lovely father-in-law.
Day 174 – I am grateful for plasters and magical Mummy kisses.
Day 175 – I am grateful for a little surprise present on the doorstep after Thomas’s lovely godmother responded to my tongue-in-cheek plea to #sendgin after a day of toddler tantrums yesterday. I’m enjoying a little glass mixed with some pink lemonade in the sunshine. And today has been better so far so on the toddler tantrums too.
Day 176 – I am grateful for ice cream.
Day 177 – I am grateful for Piriton and telephone consultations with the GP surgery.
Day 178 – I am grateful that Sophie’s face is much less red and puffy today.
Day 179 – I am grateful for a fun afternoon joining in with the Little Hearts Matter virtual children’s party. Thank you so much LHM, Sophie and Thomas had a wonderful time.
Aww! That is such a sweet but sad drawing for Father’s day.
What a wonderful godmother that is to bring you gin. hehehe
Poor Sophie. I hope she’s feeling better now. x
Thank you Kim – it was the only way I could think of to get all three dads in the same picture and I often think of my dad as looking after Jessica for me now. Sophie is much better now, thank you x
Your lovely Father’s day card is very sweet, and my eyes welled up a little, looking at the picture of your two angels – Jessica and your Dad.
Poor Sophie, was it an allergic reaction to something she has eaten, sorry, if I missed that.
Very thoughtful gift from the godfather, at times we really need a glass of something stronger to deal with what life throws at us.
Thank you. We’re not completely sure what caused the reaction – I don’t think it was anything she ate though – the most likely culprit is that it was one of the weeds in the garden which I later found out can be quite a nasty irritant.
What a lovely drawing for fathers day. Sorry to hear Sophie has been poorly, did she eat something or was it a heat rash? Love how your #sendgin plea was responded to.
Thank you. She had a reaction to something – not entirely sure what, but we think it might have been a particular weed in the garden that I later found out can be a nasty irritant.
Glad Sophie’s face went down. Poor thing. Ooh what a treat being brought some gin.
Thank you Emma. The gin was very much appreciated and such a lovely surprise.
That rash looks a bit scary – glad you managed to get it down fairly quickly. I dread any health issues in lockdown.
Lockdown certainly does make those kind of things more worrying. It was very reassuring that the GP surgery were so helpful over the phone.
The card is very sweet.
Oh bless her face went very red! Glad it was less puffy the next day!
Thank you – it was a relief when the redness and puffiness went away.
Oooo gin mixed with pink lemonade. Thanks for the tip, it sounds lovely. I have been having mine with passionfruit lemonade from tesco and its delicious, especially in the heat
Ooh passionfruit lemonade sounds good. Will have to try that!
Awwww no! Bless Sophie! But glad to see she was much better the day after, Piriton really is a godsend! What a lovely thing of Thomas’s godmother to do and glad you were able to chill out and relax. I’m not the fan of gin but whatever is needed to take the edge off! Hopen you are all well and having a lovely week! Sim x
Thank you, it was nice to have a little unexpected treat and such a relief that Sophie was okay.
Sophie’s face looks tender, glad it got better the next day. Allergies are no fun. So pleased you had a gin delivery, that was a nice bonus!
Thank you. We’ve not had much experience with allergic reactions so it was a bit of a worry but thankfully all was well.
That’s a cute drawing. OoOOoO. Your kids are having a fun time 😀
Thank you.
Aww poor Sophie – did you find out what caused the reaction? Glad the Piriton worked. Hope the toddler tantrums have stopped now – thank goodness for the extra special delivery ! Love your picture – I love the idea of your dad accompanying Jessica xxx
Thank you Cheryl – I wanted to do a picture that had all three dads in it as well as my three children. Not sure exactly what caused Sophie’s reaction but hopefully it won’t be repeated!
Allergic reactions can be soooo scary. I had a reminder in my photos of my allergies from a few years ago and it was terrible not knowing the cause (never found out). Hope she is all recovered and can avoid it happening again #project366
It is so worrying when something like that happens. We’re still not completely sure what caused it but hopefully it was just a one-off.
Your Father’s day card is very sweet, and made me well up a little, looking at the picture of your two angels – Jessica and your Dad. Goodness, poor Sophie, was it an allergic reaction to something she has eaten. Wee soul. xx
Thank you, I like to think of my dad looking after Jessica for me now. Not sure what the allergic reaction was caused by but we think it might have been one of the weeds in the garden.
Poor Sophie it looks really sore, glad it went down the next day. Sounds like you picked good godparents, what a lovely thought.
Thank you, she’s been fine ever since. The children do have lovely godparents.