Pinch Me

It’s a rainy, dark Monday morning. We’ve had a testing weekend; I was at training all day Saturday and Sophia has been ill for the rest of the weekend with a cold. She has been grumbly and upset and none of us have got much sleep or many of the things we had planned done.

Our house is covered in clutter, needs a good hoover and don’t even mention how badly the bathroom needs cleaning! But does it matter? Does it really matter? No, it doesn’t at all.

I try to be as positive as I can and I try to never lose sight of what I have.

Being a parent is hard work. Running a house is hard work. Even marriage is hard work! Sometimes I feel like I have no free time to do anything. Sometimes I take my husband for granted. Sometimes I despair about the endless housework. Sometimes I can’t bear to look in the mirror as all I see is a body which doesn’t seem my own anymore, ravaged by pregnancy. If I allowed myself I could get into the head space where everything was ‘bad’ and I could get really down.

When I was trying to conceive Sophia I learned a lot about being patient and being grateful for all I had. Though it was really very tough sometimes, I did my best to see things positively and to enjoy all of the little things.

I have a daughter who is an absolute joy. She’s so bright and sweet and makes me laugh and smile in so many ways. I’m SO proud of her and love to show her off or talk about her at every chance I get.

I have a husband who I love so much and who loves me. I love being partners with him as we grow older and discover what life is all about. I never feel as though I’m on my own and he’s always so supportive of me. I feel very lucky.

Yes I have lots of things to do in my house. But it is my house. I’m lucky that not only do I have a roof over my head but it’s a beautiful house that we worked hard to afford and pay for. We still have lots of plans for the place and lots of things to do but it’s a home we will be in for a long time. It’s a place of security that, as long as we pay our mortgage, it’ll never be taken away from us. I hope to have so many happy times here; Christmases, Birthdays and even bringing our future children home to.

My body is unrecognisable from what it was pre-pregnancy. It wasn’t fantastic before I had Sophia but now my tummy will never be the same! But that’s ok. There are changes I’d like to make to my body but there is no rush and I don’t need to beat myself up over it. I was lucky enough that my body was able to grow my baby! It provided everything she needed and it held her until we could hold her in our arms. And, I have to say, my body did a pretty damn good job at producing the most perfect little girl!

When I look at everything I have, I have a ‘pinch-me’ moment. I know there are so many people in the world who would love what I have; a loving family, warm clothes, plentiful food and much more. I hope I never stop counting my many blessings and knowing how precious they are. My life isn’t perfect and some would find it downright boring. But to me it is perfect.

I’ve decided to do a weekly post about all the things that have made me smile or feel grateful each week. I’ll list at least one thing each day which I’m thankful for. I think it’ll be nice to look back upon in years to come and also for Sophia to see what our family life was like.