A heart of gratitude

As I sit here at the kitchen table of my parents' lake house - I sit in silence overwhelmed by gratitude. Gratitude of my upbringing, my family, my friends, my health, my blessings. I am blessed. It is my kiddos spring break this week so the girls and I headed to Iowa for a few days. I did not realize how much I needed to be filled up and how this place and these people do that for me.

I took a little drive yesterday to visit a dear friend - you know that friend who knows your heart and soul, lives 5 hours away but calls at exactly the right time because she just knows when your soul is weary and needs a lending ear. We had 2.5 hours together and I instantly felt filled up - she is a blessing.

As I drove off to my next adventure to meet up with my forever friends (aka 'the fab 4' - dubbed by our parents) for a night of reminiscing and laughter I drove by the church I'd go to with my grandparents on Sundays. I was flooded with this overwhelming joy of all the drives over to their house. Oh how I miss my grandma's smile but I am so thankful for all the sweet memories of playing game after game of Scrabble, digging through cook books to find just the right recipe to try, and watching grandpa sit at the dining room table with dictionary in hand working on the day's crossword puzzle. Joy, simple joy - I am Thankful.

As I drove on and pulled into the lake community where my Grandpa Goldsmith would spend his summers - I remembered the anticipation of pulling in and seeing which cousins had arrived.... would Grandma Rosemary have her french silk pie... would I get to sit on grandpa's lap and drive the pontoon... would we get to stop and jump on the water trampoline at Freddy's Beach... would there be marshmallows for roasting when we got back.... all of the excitement of what the long summer day at grandpa's cabin would hold. It was always good, always - I am Grateful.

My parents have since built a 'cottage' where grandpa's cabin once stood, and that is where I sit, at the kitchen table, in silence, by myself, overlooking the stillness of the lake thinking about how truly blessed I am. The 'fab 4' have left - we chatted about life, our joys, our struggles, our dreams, our hopes for our kiddos, our worries and of course took some walks down memory lane. My cup has been filled - I am Blessed.

What I'm left with as I get ready to pack up and head home is knowing each and every one of us that is doing life... has something... my life is far from perfect... and I'm going to guess yours is too... and that my friends is OK. Because if we're doing life right, we are loving big (and sometimes that means hurting big), dreaming big (and sometimes that means failing big), praying big (which sometimes brings disappointment that God's timing doesn't align with ours), working hard (which means you may be growing weary). But a heart of gratitude changes everything - I am thankful, grateful and blessed.

xoxo, allison