Saying Thanks For Things I’m Grateful For

T’s teacher gave a wonderful assignment that asked T to watch a video explaining what gratitude is and to create a thank you card for something he was grateful for.

The hubby and T worked together to create a simple card (pictured below) and T said he was thankful for the playground, even though it is closed these days.

T gave me the card and said thank you for taking him to the playground and the sentiment made me happy, especially since I was in the middle of a busy day at work.

The global COVID-19 crisis has impacted everyone in different and difficult ways. I’ve certainly written about its impact on my family as we self isolated the last nine weeks.

It is so easy to slip into negativity, as I find myself wandering towards when I’m having a hard day, and I’ve always found gratitude is a helpful remedy in reframing my view of a situation.

So I’m doing T’s assignment and sharing my list of things I‘m grateful for these days:

• I’m thankful my loved ones and myself are healthy and stable and this is something I remind myself of every day, especially during the moments, and there sure are many of them these days, when I’m having a hard time dealing with this all.
• The gift of concentrated time with my family is the most wonderful thing in this situation. Being able to wake up and ease my way into the day with my family, eating meals together, going for a walk during work breaks with T, and getting a more focused front row seat to T’s incremental growth.
• The invaluable supports we get from T’s teachers has made the challenging tasks of T’s schooling less painful. The detailed and daily lesson plans and varied activities, our daily video check in calls and our weekly class hangout have all helped in keeping T learning each and every day.
• Community supports from the Surrey Place and Community Living Toronto are helping our family cope. We have regular check ins with T’s behaviour therapist. I speak and purge every few weeks with our child psychologist. The wonderful staff from both organizations email us frequent tips and resources for T.
• Amazing colleagues and collaborators have inspired me with their adaptability and ingenuity during this pandemic and have made the challenge of simultaneously working, parenting and schooling from home less painful and even fun!
• Having a roof over our heads is something I will never take for granted, especially when I think about how home and food security are even more of a concern for so many during this crisis. I’m thankful we moved into our home a year ago that has the space and a yard for T to run around and burn his endless energy.
• I have amazing friends, some of whom I have known for nearly three decades. Seeing their hopeful updates or humourous rants on social media, communicating with them on messaging apps, or my Sunday afternoon Zoom calls with my junior high friends all help in reminding me that we’re all in this together, for better or for worse.
• Finding unexpected humour in the absurdity of life right now like when T farts out loud while I’m on a work call or when I’m unknowingly singing the SheRa theme song out loud in the shower while the hubby is on a work call are moments we never had in normal times. And I love these spontaneous moments of laughter.

• The resilience of nature reminds me that even in somber times, nature prevails all around us. Beautiful white cherry blossoms (pictured above). The purples, oranges, red, yellows and greens popping up in our garden. The beautiful colours and songs of birds – cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, orioles – in our yard. Even the yellow dandelion-covered field behind our home all remind me that there are bright spots in our world that counter the darkness. We can refocus our gaze towards them.
• Everyone who is working hard so our family can stay home. Healthcare workers, grocery store and restaurant workers, public transit workers, and those demonstrating tremendous initiative in mobilizing the community to help those in need. This list is long and every one of these individuals are heroes and awesome in my eyes.
• Being able to relax a bit. While I feel a lot of stress, parental guilt, anxiety and scatteredness these days, I do get to sleep in during the work day, take naps on weekends and stay up later, because I don’t have to sleep at 9 like I used to. I use the additional time to watch TV (a luxury for me!) and I’ve been enjoying the reruns of Y&R and watching childhood favorites and introducing these movies and shows to T.
• The hubby has been my rock through this all. We’ve certainly been getting on each other’s nerves and have been very testy at times with each other. But it’s because we are both dealing with a lot. I’m thankful we have, for the most part, worked very well as a team and keeping one thing in mind – T’s best interests. He’s been pulling insane hours at work, staying up till 1 or 2 am every night, and so I’m thankful he has a week off work this coming week to rest.
• And lastly, our lovable pest, T, continues to teach us so much about life and ourselves. He is the number 1 source of our stress these days, directly and indirectly, because he is at an age that requires so much hand holding. But he is also the number source of our joy. He’s made so many gains during this pandemic and it’s been a pleasure seeing them up close. Seeing his young imaginative mind work, like when he made a game out of avoiding the dandelions in the open field (pictured at top) like they were land mines, fill me with amusement and happiness.

That list above is by no means a complete one. But I feel better having spent time on this quiet exercise – even telling T to leave me alone and him actually listening!

I acknowledge that despite the challenges and frustration I feel, I am in a good spot and I’m not dealing with hardships many others are. I remind myself – and try to teach T in a way his young mind can understand – not to take the positives in our lives for granted.

Whatever you are dealing with and wherever you are right now, I hope that you are and that you can stay well and take good care.