The Ordinary Days We Forget to Be Grateful For

Hi, friends. How often do you think to yourself during a regular day with the kids, “Ugh, this is exhausting”? You long for more quiet, more me time, less noise, less sibling squabbling, fewer rounds of “Please hang up your jacket” and “You have to study your vocab words.”

Everyday life with kids can really wear you down. We put our own needs last and fall into bed dead tired at night. And yet I've just been reminded of something: when all the kids are in their beds at night, fed and healthy, that's a whole lot of good that we get to experience.

All around the globe there are so many catastrophes that we could honestly kiss the ground every single day because we're not going hungry, we don't have to fear bombs, our kids can go to school, and we have heat. And still, sometimes it takes a wake-up call close to home to make us truly aware of it again.

Suddenly, Nothing Is Normal Anymore…

Last week my daughter had to go into the hospital with pneumonia. Watching your child struggle to breathe is just awful, and it quickly became clear that we'd be staying for several days. Her numbers were so bad that she had to be on oxygen around the clock, and that really breaks your heart. On top of the worry about your child, a hospital stay of course turns the whole rest of the family's routine upside down.

Who takes which shift at the hospital? Who picks up the youngest from daycare? The older kids need attention too (and the two of them pitched in REALLY well, which was wonderful). We parents were basically just handing off the baton in the doorway, with no chance to catch our breath. Tension 24/7, and the nights in the hospital take the most out of you.

When you're in a situation like that, you suddenly feel very humble. You wish so badly that your sick child could just run around and be wild again. You wish for a totally normal routine that just runs on its own, you wish for your own bed, healthy food, meals together as a family.

You think about how it is for families whose kids have to stay in the hospital for months. Whose kids are chronically or terminally ill, whose parents never get a break because they care for their children at home. I was reminded again how helpful it is to have a partner and a good network.

How hard is this for single parents, or for people who feel lonely? How hard is it when you don't know how you'll pay for groceries, when the heat stops working, when you're afraid for your safety because violence is part of your life?

Of course you're allowed to complain, to find everyday life annoying sometimes, to be mad at your kids and long for some peace and quiet. But, and this is also a fact: every day that everyone you love goes to bed healthy, fed, and safe is a huge gift, and we should be very, very grateful for it.