Motherhood & Words

a few things I’m grateful for

One of the things I’d like to do here are Motherhood & Words is to write a weekly or bi-weekly post about things for which I’m grateful. Stress tends to get the better of me, and I forget to appreciate everything that I have and love. I’d like to invite you to post what you’re grateful for in the comments and include a link to your own gratitude post.

This is what I’m grateful for right now:

  • the crackling racket of running through fallen leaves
  • Zoë belting out the Zoë version of Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite” in the backseat of the car
  • Stella and Zoë and their dance parties, during which they intermittently stop dancing and yell “Sisters!”
  • my sister’s pregnancy (twins! almost 19 weeks!)
  • my copyeditor (I spent a few hours at the coffee shop on Saturday morning going through my manuscript. So. Much. Fun!)
  • our health, our health, our health
Happy Monday, friends. What are the things in your life for which you’re grateful?
Posted in

Kate

I have been teaching creative writing for almost twenty years. Reading about other women’s lives and experiences has expanded my world. To be able to walk in someone else’s shoes, whether it’s for a moment or an hour or a few days, is an incredible gift, providing me with insight into the human experience. It takes courage to write your truths, especially if it doesn’t seem as though anyone cares, as though anyone is listening. Let me tell you: your stories matter, I’m listening, and I’m here to help you find the heart of those truths, to get them down on the page, to craft them, and to send them out into the world. Together, we will change the world, one story at a time.

19 Comments

  1. Sarah on November 7, 2011 at 8:46 am

    I love your list! Picturing your kids’ dance party makes me smile! And I agree 1000% about the last one.



    • Kate on November 8, 2011 at 9:20 am

      Thanks, Sarah!! I can imagine your little ones doing the same thing!



  2. Teri B on November 7, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    Kate,
    Thanks for reminding me to pause and make a gratitude list. What I *don’t* have typically gets way too much airtime.

    1. A warm place to live
    2. Food in the fridge
    3. A car that runs
    4. Enough money for today
    5. More clarity than ever before



    • Kate on November 7, 2011 at 3:37 pm

      Teri, that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? I love your list. I’m so gald you have the basics, and I love #5: clarity!



  3. Kristine on November 7, 2011 at 4:35 pm

    Happy Monday Kate, (good day for gratitude).
    I’m grateful for inspirational friends who remind me to write. Sometimes in haiku.



    • Kate on November 8, 2011 at 6:32 am

      Thank you, Kristine! And I love your haiku!



  4. Shannon on November 8, 2011 at 8:24 am

    I am grateful that life has given me a rich array of experiences that have shaped and molded me into the woman I am becoming.

    I am grateful that my daughter believes me to be the “most amazing woman she has ever met.”

    I am grateful to be married to a man I passionately love and admire.

    I am grateful for friends that fill my cup everyday.

    I am most grateful for a faith that has held me steady until I could stand firm.



    • Kate on November 8, 2011 at 9:19 am

      Shannon, I love your list, and I’m so grateful for these things in your life, as well! And I second your daughter! You are amazing!!



  5. cath c on November 8, 2011 at 9:16 am

    lovely idea and great things to be grateful about.



    • Kate on November 8, 2011 at 9:19 am

      Thanks, Cath! I know you have a list in you, too!



  6. Mary on November 8, 2011 at 9:37 am

    I am grateful for words crafted with timeless beauty such as this old Irish prayer:

    Deep peace of the running waves to you,
    Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
    Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
    Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
    Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

    And I’m grateful for at least one good laugh a day. I used that prayer in thank you notes I recently sent out, but forgot to write “old Irish prayer” at the end. So a good friend called yesterday to compliment me on my poem. I wish!



    • Kate on November 8, 2011 at 9:45 am

      Oh Mary, I love that! I know that your words are just as lovely!



  7. Andrea on November 8, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    Lovely. I always forget to slow down and be grateful–it’s those little things that are especially sweet isn’t it?–but I just happened to do a gratitude post last week! http://remainsofday.blogspot.com/2011/11/in-gratitude.html



    • Kate on November 9, 2011 at 6:47 am

      Absolutely, lovely, Andrea, though I’m sorry your year has been so stressful. I am so grateful for your words and your blog!



  8. Sarah Marty-Schlipf on November 14, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    Thanks for the reminder, Kate. : ) Some friends and I christened this month Thank-vember, and we’re trying to post one thing we’re thankful for every day, just for the intentionality of it.
    Today I had a few things but only posted one: thankful for, as you said, “our health, our health, our health”–specifically for me, high enough iron levels to finally donate blood.
    The others were 1) a surprise visit from my husband over lunch, 2) the feeling of my final manuscript (for graduation), all 110 pages of it, in hard copy in my hands, and 3) a good, hard seven-mile run to burn off the adrenaline rush after printing.

    I’d say this is a good day to be thankful : )



    • Kate Hopper on November 15, 2011 at 12:56 pm

      I love your list, Sarah! And I’m heading over to your blog right now!



  9. Thank-vember « .beauty and the mess. on November 15, 2011 at 11:06 am

    […] 14, 2011 by unfinishedportraitofsam After reading this post about gratitude tonight by Kate, a writer acquaintance of mine (and author of a blog I highly recommend), I thought […]

    [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The comment’s server IP (72.233.61.49) doesn’t match the comment’s URL host IP (74.200.244.59) and so is spam.



  10. Kate Edenborg on November 16, 2011 at 8:55 am

    Dynamite from the backseat of the car! Ah, so familiar. Nothing like a 3 year old singing that song : )

    And now your blog has inspired me to relaunch mine — 2012!



    • Kate on November 16, 2011 at 10:25 am

      I can’t wait to read, Kate!!