30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Day 19

*Written in retrospect*

Today I am under the weather, again.  Since having the flu last month I seem to get sick at the drop of a hat, which sucks since I'm a nurse and around sick people ALL DAY LONG! 

Breaking all the rules, I went off to work anyway, hoping I'd be able to hide my sniffles with a lie about having allergies.  Not long into my shift my head was throbbing, my nose was running, my neck was aching and the whole ward was spinning around me.  I attempted some dinner, thinking maybe a little sustenance might make the difference, only to add nausea on top of it all.  Luckily, one of the beautiful women I work with took one look at my face and told me to head home.  She explained how she'd had the same bug for almost as long as I had, and coming back to work when she wasn't well felt like torture.  She sent me home, and reassured she'd look after my bunch.

This week is also International Nurses and Midwives Week.  Today, and always, I am grateful for the caring women and men who I work with.  We don't just care for our patients, we care for each other as well.  Without good, hardworking nurses to support us, our jobs would be a million times harder than it already is.

  

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Day 18

*Written in retrospect*

Today I am grateful for all the Mothers in our lives.


Mother's grow us, birth us, and swaddle us.
Mother's adopt us, foster us, and yearn for us.  
Mother's hold us, guide us, and teach us.
Mother's support us, protect us, and defend us.
Mother's share us, dream for us, and pray for us.


Just because we grow older doesn't mean they stop being our Mummy or Mama, Aunty or Grandma.
And if we're truly blessed, we marry into another maternal relationship that is just as special.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers in our lives.  
You are so very special, each and every one of you.

Sunny xx 

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Days 16 and 17

The last couple of days I have really needed a distraction.  I finally feel like I am at my stress tipping point, and could lose the plot at any minute.  House-hunting has sucked mostly because of the fact that agents use REALLY old pictures in profiles and open homes prove that they are big fat liars.  We have been, well mostly me alone, to three open homes and all have been rather disappointing.  Mind you, I am rather picky as I love our current house and don't want to downgrade to another other than loveliness.  

So after all the stress of having to travel around Brisbane finding these places, the whole application process, and then the waiting, it's nice to come home and have something to do to take my mind off it all.  We are up to day 'M' for our photo a day fun.  Every day I am finding it harder and harder to think of something super creative and original to photograph.  Here's what I've come up with so far (that aren't super personal)...

A is for Anna Sui (my favourite)

 B is for The Boo

 C is for clouds

 D is for design

 E is for eggs (high protein, weight loss super food)

 G is for garden

 J is for jewel

 K is for knitting

 

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Day 15

Today I am grateful for sunshine.  

It seems like a very simple thing to be thankful for, and it is in some ways.  But today the sunshine means being able to open our windows and doors, letting in the warm breeze and sunshine.  It means The Boo gets to curl up on her cushion in front of the door and toast her belly against the rays coming through the trees outside.  It means hanging the washing on the line and filling the yard with the smell of clean linen and fabric softener.  It means my kitchen is basking in a rainbow of colour, as the sun hits the jewel sun-catcher given to me by a best friend.  

 

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Days 13 and 14

*Written in retrospect*

My grateful posts are developing a common theme.  Not something I am doing intentionally, but still, makes you realise one of the things I cherish most.  Sleep!  

These last two nights I haven't slept very well.  I think with a dodgey work roster, our new game plan, and the fact that this year is flying by way too quickly, I've got all these excess thoughts that pop into my head late at night when I'm trying to switch my brain off.  Instead my brain plays its own little game of jump rope, hopping from one subject to another, obsessing over tiny details until I finally give up and read my book instead.  Hubby has always been a night owl.  He stays up way later than he should, but when he's ready to sleep he's out like a light.  Bombs could go off at the foot of the bed and he wouldn't even flinch.  Usually when I'm tossing and turning this attribute of his bugs me.  Mostly because I want him to wake, wrap me in his arms and transfer some of his calm, restfulness to me by osmosis.  But these last two nights have been a bit different.  As I lay wide awake last night, fidgeting intentionally to wake him, I realised that he too probably worries like I do.  He just doesn't tell me every little detail because he knows that would intensify my own anxieties.  

Since learning of our infertility and making plans for our future, timelines have become very important to me.  I guess I could blame all the cycle charting and appointment making that comes along with treatments.  Who knows?  But there is something so determined in me to achieve a goal in our designated time period, that I will go out of my mind crazy trying to make it happen.  Doesn't even matter the goal, really.  It could be as mundane as having to have all the washing folded by 5pm every Sunday night.  If it's not done on time, it throws everything off balance.  Believe me, schedules are important in my calculating brain.  Problem is, not everyone and everything sticks to MY schedule.  In fact, I can't even stick to my own, somewhat unrealistic schedules (take this blog a day, for example).  ANYWAY, Hubby also picked up on this fact, and has had the monster task of calming my crazy self when I flip out for no apparent reason, and he's doing an AMAZING job too!

So, the last two nights I have lay in bed, wishing he would wake and comfort, but instead have let him sleep.  I have listened to the sound of his breathing, deep and heavy in dream, and this has brought me all the comfort I needed.  I am so grateful for my Husband.  I am so much a better, calmer version of myself in his presence.  He is teaching me how to be this in his absence too.  I am grateful to have my beloved lay next to me every night, and to feel safe and secure in the sounds of his breath.  I am grateful to share our burdens and not feel alone.

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Day 12

Today is an important day.  It is International Bereaved Mothers Day.  A day when those of us who didn't get the opportunity to bring our babies home from the hospital, see our babies take their first breaths, or hold our babies in our arms, are honoured as Mothers.

 I want to say a very big thank you to Carly Marie for organising such a wonderfully warm, open and caring event.  I am grateful that we are not forgotten.

 

30 Days of Grateful Blogging - Day 11

*Written in retrospect

I've been doing a lot of late shifts lately.  Because I get home so late from work, I tend to sleep in longer, get up later, and then organise my day from there.  Today I got out of bed at about 10am, put on some washing, pottered around the house and then made myself some brunch.  I sat down on the couch, my scrambled eggs in front of me, PJs still on, and began eating.  Then my phone rings...

"I hope you don't mind, I invited some friends round for lunch" says my Husband on the other end of the line.  "Ummmm...WHAT?!" I say back, my mouth full of toast.  "It's alright, I've already explained how messy our house is and that you're probably in your PJs" he responds.  I hang up and in a mad panic tidy the immediate area of all identifying slobness.

When the doorbell rings I am still in my PJs, Hubby isn't home yet, and I am standing embarrassed greeting our friends.  They walk in happily, comment on my cute pajamas and give me a giant hug.  When Hubby gets home we sit around the table eating lunch and discussing upcoming plans for both our house moves.  Later, I excuse myself to shower and dress and leave for work.

Today I am grateful for low maintenance, pajama friendly, non-judgmental friends.  Those friends who don't care what your house looks like, if you're wearing your favourite PJs or trackies when they visit, and who feel comfortable enough to do the same if you dropped in on them. 

  


 

30 Days of Grateful - Day 10

Today has been a busy little day here in the Sunny household.  Last night Hubby and I sat down and made ourselves a new and improved game plan for the remainder of 2012 (can you believe it's May already?!).  We did this at the start of the year too, with a set of goals we wanted to achieve in the 12 months between last Christmas and next, however, now that the year is almost half over it's time to reassess.  

We have been putting off moving to a bigger place for the last year and a half.  I love our home, absolutely love it.  We moved in before we got married, spent our first night as man and wife here, bought furniture and created our own style of cosy.  But our two bedrooms have been stretched to fit a main bed, guest room, home office and music room.  Not to mention accommodating countless family and friends.  Our garage has become a storage facility. And our lounge/dining room, my office.  The idea of creating a nursery among all this makes my head spin.  But, as you can imagine, the lengthening time it has taken us to fall pregnant has made an awesome excuse to stay put.  After all, who loves to pack and move house????

So, when we got an email from our estate agent asking if we'd like to renew our lease again, we finally made the big decision to move.  Within a day, Hubby had ordered the packing boxes which were delivered straight to our front door.  And today, we began the arduous task of packing up our belongings.  Hubby attacked the DVD and TV cabinets, while I packed boxes full of books.  We don't move for another five weeks, so packing will be a slow and steady process while we sort and de-clutter.  But as I went through our rooms today, devising a schedule for the whole process, I started to feel a little sad.  I have loved this home.  It has been OUR first home.  Here we learned what it takes to be married, to cope with the ups and downs, to stick together.  It has been warm and inviting, and the place I've wanted to run to when the rest of the world seems so dark and scary.  This house has opened up to us, given us room to grow and breathe and create our own space.  For this I am very grateful!