#366daysofgratitude 2020 – Week 29

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:

 

Sophie and Thomas having a tea party with the toys in the tuff tray; Thomas splashing with water and cleaning sandy toys in his toy truck; Thomas and Sophie in the Long Garden at Cliveden; my twin sister; cakes in the shapes of Numberblocks 1-5; Sophie doing her ballet class outdoors; Thomas's Numberblock 2 birthday cake - "#366daysofgratitude 2020 - Week 29"

 

Day 201 – I am grateful for a tea party with the toys.

Day 202 – I am grateful for help cleaning off the sandy toys.

Day 203 – I am grateful for a lovely afternoon out at Cliveden.

Day 204 – I am grateful that I got to see my twinny for the first time in over four months!

Day 205 – I am grateful that part 1 of Thomas’s birthday cake is done. I had to use caramel coloured icing rather than orange for Numberblock 2 and the green icing on Numberblock 4 was a bit runny but I’m happy with them and I know Thomas will love them and that’s what matters most.

Day 206 – I am grateful that Sophie can enjoy socially-distanced ballet classes outdoors.

Day 207 – I am grateful that Thomas’s birthday cake is all done ready for my Numberblocks-mad birthday boy tomorrow.

 

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31 thoughts on “#366daysofgratitude 2020 – Week 29

  1. Aww! How adorable. It looks like they had a teddy bears picnic.
    So lovely that you got to see your sister. 4 months seems such a long time.
    Happy birthday to Thomas! I hope he has had a fab day! The cakes look so good x

    1. Thanks Kim. It was lovely to see my sister after so long. Thomas had a lovely birthday and loved his cakes 🙂

  2. Oooh I didn’t know that you had a twin ! Lovely to get to see her again. Your birthday cake looks amazing – he’ll love it ! I love the pictures in the garden – the tea party looks like great fun 🙂

  3. Amazing cake, I love the fact you find things to be grateful for everyday! I think if more people took that approach we might find a better balance in life!

    1. Thank you – it was something a friend of mine started doing a few years back and really inspired me to do the same. It does make such a difference finding little things to be grateful for each day.

  4. Ah I didn’t know you were a twin. Glad you were finally able to catch up face to face. Lovely that so many classes are able to do outdoor ones for the children.

    1. It was nice to catch up. Outdoor classes are great – hopefully the weather will stay good for them!

  5. How lovely to finally see your twin. You must have really missed her. The birthday cake looks great. I hope Thomas had a lovely day. How lovely for Sophie to have an outdoor ballet class. My daughter really misses her classes.

    1. I have missed it – it was so good to see her again. Thomas had a lovely birthday. I can imagine your daughter must really be missing her classes. Sophie has been doing hers on Zoom but it’s been nice to have classes in person again.

    1. Thanks Elaine, he was so happy with his cakes – his little face was an absolute picture.

  6. The picnic with the toys looks so lovely! And you cake for Thomas is amazing. I bet he was thrilled with it. Sophie is a little swan in the Swan Lake. I didn’t know you have a twin. It must have been wonderful to be able to see each other again.

  7. Hope your son had a lovely birthday! The Numberblock cakes are so cute! Well done, I bet he loved them so much. I wish I had been more talented making cakes for my boys, I usually cheated and got someone else to make them.

  8. Happy Birthday Thomas, love the number block cakes they look fab. Great Sophie could have online ballet lessons and the weather was great also

  9. Love the Numberblocks cake, hope Thomas had a lovely day. I think virtual lessons are a great way to do clubs and I wonder if some will continue after lockdown ends #project366

    1. Thanks Laura, Thomas did have a lovely day. I suspect there will be some things that continue to be done virtually – it’s amazing how well it can work sometimes.

  10. I have no idea what Numberblocks are, but the moment you mentioned cake, you had me! I hope Thomas had the best birthday and enjoyed his awesome cake! I hope you are feeling much better this week too chick and you’ve been resting up when you can! Sim x

    1. Thank you, it’s a CBeebies programme which teaches children about numbers and Thomas is obsessed with it. His little face when he saw his cake was an absolute picture 🙂

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