My own personal growth has made me a more understanding and
patient person. I feel grounded and more positive about the future than ever
before. In a few days time I will have been married for 18 years. My marriage
has had its ups and downs, although I am fairly sure that this is pretty normal,
especially when you throw a special needs child into the mix!
I do try to look on the bright side of life, hence the name
of my blog. Mind you, I also try to keep it real and write about anything that
may be causing me angst. My blog is my therapy and its loads cheaper than
visiting a therapist!!
I follow a lovely blog called 'Mummy from the Heart‘ and
each week she has a blog hop where her readers share their *reasons to be
cheerful*. This week the theme is... A simple Christmas. I happened to read her latest post this afternoon and decided that participating in the blog hop would be a great way to end my blogging year.
My following reasons to be cheerful may not be specific to Christmas day, although they do revolve around our holiday season.
1. I have really enjoyed catching up with family and friends who now live overseas. In one week, we have had family from Zimbabwe and lunch with old friends who now live in Sydney, Australia. I was also fortunate to have a couple of visits from a lovely London friend.
2. I am extremely thankful that our second son (you know, the one with autism) has become so flexible and resilient. Our social calendar has been full and we have been without a sitter. Therefore, we decided to just bite the bullet and take our boy with us. For the first year ever, we have enjoyed outings as a complete family and our boy has handled it exceptionally well. This is a HUGE achievement!
3. At times I can be impetuous and do something crazy that affects the whole family. This time I bought a dog, without putting any thought into how it would change our family life. We then took on another dog (they are brothers!). I am so grateful for our canine friends. They get us out of the house, give us a lot of joy and we receive unconditional love.
4. I am very grateful that my husband likes to cook. I love that he plots and plans and chops and dices. As I write this, he has put a chicken in the Weber, has potatoes roasting in the oven and is cooking up a carrot and cumin concoction! I should be cleaning up his mess but this blog post is far more important!!
5. Thanks to my husband for parting with some of his precious air miles, I have just booked a flight to Ireland to attend an Autism Conference. The conference is being held in Dublin on the 3rd and 4th of April 2013 and I am beyond excited.
On that note, I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
See you in 2013!
Oh hello, lovely to have you join in. It is so nice you have finished your year with a #R2BC post.
ReplyDeleteFabulous reasons and how eciting will a trip to Ireland be.
Happy new year, Mich x
Well it sounds as though the year has ended on a really high note for you and I'm so glad :) It must give you a real sense of freedom now that your younger boy has shown that he can tolerate outings :)) There's the possibility of a dog entering out lives here too, as a companion dog for my son and, well, all of us really, something to investigate in the new year. And speaking of which, have a good one!
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, thank you for giving me the opportunity. Happy New Year to you and your family. x
ReplyDeleteBlue Sky, how exciting to hear that you may be getting a companion dog. Enjoy your New Year and here is hoping that 2013 is going to be a good one for all of us. x
Brilliant post to end the year with! Xx
ReplyDeleteaww I love that you got dogs to complete your family and your year :)
ReplyDeletethat is why I love your blog ( that you look on the bright side while also staying real - that is my main thing as well ) - I am going to do this linky as well
ReplyDelete@Joanna ~ Thank you x
ReplyDelete@Rachael ~ The dogs have been great for our family. Thank you for your comment. x
@Floortime Lite Mama ~ I also love your blog and always look forward to your updates. Can't wait to read your 'reasons to be cheerful'. x
I did it !!
ReplyDeleteSome fantastic reasons to be cheerful Di... especially the part about your son coping with family trips. And the bit about the cooking husband. I am SO jealous!
ReplyDeleteWait a minute... you're coming to Ireland?? Will we get to meet???!!! I sure hope so!
xx Jazzy
@Floortime ~ you did? Great, I look forward to reading your post!
ReplyDelete@Jazzy ~ Yes, yes, yes... I am coming to Ireland!! :-) Please speak to Candi and lets make a plan for Saturday the 6th of April. Sorry to be so specific but I fly to London on the 7th! x
What a wonderful list! Fabulous about the family outings..isn't it lovely when everyone can participate? I understand about getting the dogs...now that I have acquired three cats and two chickens in the past year...I thought that our three dogs could use the company! Happy New Year to you as well. :))
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen, Happy New Year to you and your family. Having a more flexible Nick has really changed our life. I love the sound of your menagerie ... They must keep you busy.. and amused! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and uplifting! =)
ReplyDelete@Daily Ramblings ~ thank you.. and thanks also for stopping by.
DeleteNumber 2) is pretty big! And congratulations on 18 years :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It's always great to be able to remind yourself and others of all the good stuff there is in life. It can often get lost in the day to day struggles. Thanks for a beautiful post! And also, I'd like to thank you for often commenting on my own blog, it means a lot to me, I hardly ever get comments but you are always so uplifting and supportive. A huge thank you and I wish you and your family a wonderful 2013!
ReplyDelete@Danales Ramblings ~ Yes, it's great to highlight the good stuff and it certainly helps to balance out the struggles. I enjoy reading your blog... and I am a big fan of comments. They are a reminder to me that there are people out there who walk the same path. The comments create a connection.. I guess it is a bit like the pen pal system that we had has kids.
DeleteThank you, alifeunlimted. :-)
ReplyDelete