Day 2 in A Month of Gratitude (2nd October 2020)

Day 2 of A Month of Gratitude #AMOG sees me happily trundling around my neighbourhood and thinking about my children. I am #grateful for my 4 beautiful kids who are each so different and yet so similar. Their personalities and interests are starkly different and yet their very basic need is the same... to be loved, accepted and cherished as they are, enroute to being better versions of themselves as they grow. The word that resonated as I thought about them on my walk was that they are a "gift". 

Each of them is a gift to me, and if there is a gift, there's usually a giver. I like to think God gave each of them to me, to love and cherish. Along the way we've had our ups and downs but I see each one growing beautifully and I am glad. So glad that my heart could burst. Don't burst, heart, you have to keep going for these kids, and yourself! Be strong, despite the rollercoaster ride of single parenting, because the fruits of my labour are not immediate, but far down the road. 

One needs to see the long picture, kinda like running a marathon and aiming for the end even when you are exhausted early on. Keep on keeping on, and never give up. The rewards come later in all our lives. It's important to train the mind to defer rewards and immediate gratification in so many things in life, and to cultivate gratitude as an attitude in the interim. #MentalHealthAwareness includes building resilience for the long haul and finding the joy in parenting, despite the challenges. Our kids will be miserable if we are miserable! Why not infect them with joy instead? 😊

So on this day I thanked God for the gift of my 4 lovely children, said a prayer for them, and remembered the many who want kids but cannot have them, who have had kids but have lost them, and those whose kids are miles away from them. My heart goes out to them. May they find joy in other good gifts given by the Giver of Life Himself. God is closer than we think. Be blessed! ❤

#AMOG #AMonthOfGratitude #GratitudeIsAnAttitude #MentalHealthAwareness #October #IMadeItThroughDayTwo #GratefulForMyKids

Thanks for reading, 

Pav