The Last Time I Celebrated Something....

I try to celebrate the small things in life that others may not necessarily think warrant much thought.  We obviously celebrate the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries...but celebrating a win in life is good sometimes too.  Things like good grades for the kids, a great play during the soccer game, an award received for hard work, or just when everything went right on a given day or during an event.  

I work hard in my volunteer obligations and often find myself silently celebrating lots of little things when my hard work pays off.  Sometimes I even do a little dance when dinner goes off without a hitch or I get all the things on my to-do list crossed off.  

I feel like we need to celebrate these little wins and accomplishments so that we are aware of our own self-worth and how important that we are to the everyday rotation of our little section of the world.  We are special and important and the things we do everyday, whether big or small, make a difference in the lives of those around us.  I think we, as women, tend to forget that sometimes.  

Small Things That Make Me Happy

Do big things or small things make you happy?  Are you more content with little things that add up or just one large thing?  For me, I would rather lots of little things.  Don't get me wrong, having something big and exciting happen is wonderful too but I try to see the beauty in the small everyday things and take joy in them as well.

Some small things that make me happy on the regular:

• A good cup of coffee with a friend
• A beautiful sky
• A random compliment
• A smile from a stranger
• An amazing book
• The excitement in my kids when they've discovered something or done something
• My dogs love
• A random text from my husband
• A good song
• The smell of lilac
• A shared joke with a friend
• Taking a great picture with my camera

13 years....

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary.  We married in the courthouse in front of a Justice of the Peace and three friends from our unit.  We've traveled across the country together and been through several year long deployments.  We continue to get stronger every year.  We take care of each other and don't let the little things turn into big things.  I can't imagine walking through this life with anyone else.  My husband is my rock and my best friend.

A List of Things I'm Thankful For...

Going by my handy dandy "A Year of Journal Prompts" list, this week is to be what I put as my title.  That could take a while.  I will try to narrow it down to what i'm feeling right now.

1. My husband is at the very top of my list.  I have been sick with a horrid sinus infection since the beginning of December.  I am now on round 3 of antibiotics and they aren't working either, sadly to say.  I'm waiting on a referral to go through for ENT after I had a CT Scan of my sinuses and it revealed some things.  I am in pain all the time and feel like crap constantly.  I'm exhausted and grumpy.  He is frustrated, I know.  But he puts on a good face and has been cooking dinner, thank goodness because I can hardly eat most of the time, although I force myself to.  He has been doing other things for me and just letting me be.  He does so much for me all the time and always has.  We will be married for 13 years next week and he has done nothing but show his love to me throughout.  I could not have married a better man and couldn't imagine my life without him...ever.  Just thinking about it makes me want to puke.

2. My 3 kids.  I have been extremely blessed with my children.  They are all beautiful human beings that prove time and again that I don't need to worry that they are learning the things that we are trying to teach them.  They are blossoming into great people that are loving and kind.  My oldest is funny and sweet and respectful even when we are not around.  My middle is sassy and stands up for what she believes in and what she wants with no doubt in her mind and I love that about her.  My youngest is silly and emotional and my loving guy.  I wouldn't trade anything about them for anything in the world.  They are me...they are us...

3. My dogs.  Tank and Perry are like children to me.  Tank is the biggest baby and the sweetest boy.  He is a year old black lab and is so full of energy and fun.  All he wants is play and love and he is completely satisfied.  Oh, and chew toys...lots and lots of chew toys to demolish.  Perry is older, at almost 7, and he is laid back and quiet, calm and reserved.  But every once in a while the young guy comes out and I catch him playing with a ball all by himself.  I love those moments because it lets me know that he's still able and willing to have fun.  See, we had to put down our lab mix, Shadow, in May of 2015.  He had lost the ability to walk and they couldn't figure out why or what was wrong with him.  He was suffering and we couldn't let that happen.  It was the hardest thing i've ever had to do.  He was older than Perry and Perry had grown up with him.  After he was gone, Perry was alone, his best friend was gone.  He got kind of sad and quiet.  He stopped playing and grew older.  We got Tank at the end of that year and he grew to love him and accept him and they play together now, but it took a while.  While he plays with Tank, he still doesn't play on his own or with us.  He won't fetch a ball or play tug of war like he used to.  It could just be that he doesn't want to or his age.  Who knows.  But he gets lots of love and attention, even though Tank demands attention ALL the time.  They are our family.

4. Friends.  I have a couple local friends that I could call in an emergency and know that they would drop everything and help any way they could.  I would do the same for them.  I have lots of friends that I would go to lunch with or coffee, but not a lot that would do anything for me.  These are the friends that i'm most thankful for.  Being a military family and moving every 2-3 years on average, our group of friends is rotational just like our duty station.  It's hard to start all over and try to find that one core friend you can rely on when shit hits the fan.  I have found two and i'm beyond thankful for that.  I also have another great group of friends that have provided loads of support throughout the years.  I have never met most of them face to face but they are considered my best friends nonetheless.  We share our everyday struggles and joyous moments and life's ins and outs.  We update each other regularly on everything, we are like a family.

I will stop there because I feel like those are the most important things in my life right now to be thankful for.      

About Me

My name is Jess and i'm beginning this blogging journey for myself.  I have had several failed attempts at blogs before and could never keep up with them.  I would post for a while and then taper off and revisit every few years and pick it back up.  Now it's been too long and I don't think my blogs exist anymore, or they exist, I just can't post anything to them any longer.  So i'm starting in a fresh space with a new goal.

This blog is solely for me.  If you are reading this...great, welcome!  For the time being, until I get into my writing groove, i'm going to be following 'A Year of Journaling' prompt which will give me a post a week.  I will add more than that once I get my feet wet and feel like I have more things to talk about.

The prompt for the first week is "About Me".  I have three kids (14, 10, and 7) and 2 dogs (Lab and a Short-haired Pointer).  We are a military family.  I'm a Veteran and my husband is still Active Duty.  We have been on the military journey for 17 1/2 years collectively and married for 13 years this month.  The first 4 1/2 years of the 17 1/2 we were stationed together in the same unit, that's where we met.  In our current assignment, my husband is a Basic Training 1SG.  I volunteer with the unit taking pictures, almost everyday when they are in cycle, of the trainees during their training.  I also run our Battalion Facebook page and answer questions that the trainee family members may have, help to plan Battalion family events, volunteer as a Den Leader for my youngest son's Cub Scout Den, and am on the board for our post Spouses' Club.  I also volunteer at my children's school when I have time.  I have a B.A. in Psychology and 30 hours towards a Master's Degree in Psychology.  However, I decided that was not the direction that I wanted to take in my life or career so I quit grad school.  I love working with Soldiers and their families and will look for work in that area at our next duty station working on the base.

So, that is a bit about me.