Carrie Willard

putting the "her" back in motherhood

  • About Carrie
    • Fine Print
  • New? Start here
  • Home & Family
    • Homeschool
    • Mothering
    • Homemaking
  • Well-being
    • Books & Read-Alouds
    • Beauty
    • Food
    • Health
  • Your Money
    • Earning & Investing
    • Blogging & Writing
    • Frugality
  • Your Time
    • Habits & Goals
  • Recommended

May 11, 2023 by Carrie

Thankful Thursday

Yesterday I cried when I heard that Heather Armstrong, the writer known as Dooce, died by suicide. She was 47, the same age as me.

Dooce was the first mega-popular mom blogger I (and many other people) had ever known. Unbeknownst to her, she likely inspired thousands of other women to tell their stories online. She was certainly an inspiration to me. She was gut-bustingly witty, brutally honest, beautiful, and apparently, in a lot of pain.

When I began reading her blog, I had no idea how much our lives would eventually have in common. I decided to write a post today (when it’s been aaaaages) in her honor.

Things I’m thankful for:

1) New and old friends

My schoolteacher friend took me to prom, and all I got was this car selfie! I didn’t get to go to prom when I was a teenager, so when a teacher friend asked me to accompany while he chaperoned, I was pretty thrilled.

Lately I’ve been spending time with one new and two old friends I reconnected with, and it’s sweet. They say friends are the family you choose, and it’s so true.

2) My part-time job

Do I love my job? No. Is it hard on me physically? Very much yes.

But every time I drive in to work, I feel such gratitude for decent health insurance. Recently, I got answers for some worrisome symptoms I’d been having (hence the heart monitor I’m wearing in this pic I snapped when I took my daughters to see The Breeders live. #longliveGenXmusic).

3) My therapist

Today is Thursday. Thursday is Therapy day. I’ve had this routine for about eighteen months now. Just when I think I can’t take it, when that’s all I can stands and I can’t stands no more, it’s time for an appointment. I don’t think I’d be functioning without therapy. (Note: Therapy is so important for me, I spent $20,000 out of pocket on it last year for myself and my eldest daughter. I’m working on finding a new therapist covered by my insurance!)

4) My Bullet Journal

I don’t have a single clue what I’m doing, anytime, until I look at my beloved BuJo. I recently ordered a new one (this time, in red, my favorite color) because my current one is all used up.

My BuJo is my flexible, customizable yet simple calendar, journal, brain on paper, mental health buddy, money manager.

If you want to see how I use mine, go here: simple bullet journaling. Since I’m getting a new one, I’m spending time going through the current one deciding what pages I want to keep and which ones weren’t helpful or I didn’t follow through on.

Definite keepers:

*Monthly page
*Habit tracker
*Monthly spending/budget page
*Gratitude list

5) Public School

After what seems like a lifetime of homeschooling, all of my kids are in public school (or college). They’re thriving. And I’m so very, very grateful.

My youngest, giving an oral presentation on Babe Ruth. (Remember when he fit in the palm of my hand?)

My children’s teachers are wonderful and I’m so impressed with the schools they attend. At this stage of my parenting, I’m deeply thankful for public education.

What are you grateful for right now? I’d love to hear more in the comments.

Share
Pin
Tweet
0 Shares

Filed Under: Well-being Tagged With: gratitude, thankful thursday

About Carrie

Carrie is a mom of 7 and the author of this blog. More about her here.

❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Never Miss a Post!

Recent Posts

  • Dumb Reasons I Spend Money (and how I plan to fix it)
  • Five Frugal Things
  • Thankful Thursday
  • My solution (for now) to avoiding food waste
  • Frugal Wins, September Edition
  • The benefits of financial trauma
  • How to stop emotional spending
  • Notes from my first FinCon
  • On Learning to Linger
  • Frugal Wins, July edition

Like this blog?

Buy me a matcha!

Like this?

Buy me a matcha!

Pretty Chic Theme By: Pretty Darn Cute Design