Monthly Gratitude – October 2019

I forgot to do a monthly gratitude post last month but things got a bit busy towards the end of the month with my husband going away for 4 weeks to Pakistan. And it was one of those months that just flew by and it was hard to think about what I was specifically grateful for.

Quality time

This month I have been grateful to be able to spend does quality one on one time with my eldest. We managed to go to the cinema during half term while Bee was with her friends…and also later in the month enjoyed some hot chocolate and cake at Costa.

As she is older by 6 years I think that sometimes she can be overlooked as Bee, being the younger, ends up getting a lot of attention. I have realised that no matter how independent she may seem, getting on with school work etc, she also needs attention and some alone time with us. As a result I have recently been trying to make more of an effort to make time for her. And it has improved our relationship.

Independence

For the majority of October I was alone as the husband was away visiting family. It made me realise how grateful I am that I am pretty independent and can cope with no issues if the husband is away. However I knew that if any issues did arise I had family around to help me out.

I see in groups women who appear to be freaking out when their husbands go away for a few weeks. Worrying about how they will cope, worrying about missing their husbands and I do sometimes think ‘come on…snap out of it! You are stronger than you think.’ But I do understand that not all have family close by to help….and I was grateful for that when the girls came down with the vomiting bug and my nephew was able to help a couple of times by getting me some things from the shops.

I am grateful for the fact that I went away to university as I think that did help me become more independent and being alone for a few weeks doesn’t phase me at all. With the girls school and activities after school, the 4 weeks flew by; it felt less than 4 weeks if I am honest.

Choice

I am also grateful this month for the choice of whether I need to go to work or not. Alhamdulillah we manage on just my husbands salary. Although I am desperate to return to work for my own sanity, I am not currently returning to work due to the fact that my parents end up with lots of doctors and hospital appointments and I worry about who would take them to the appointments. It does frustrate me sometimes but as I am reminded by my friends, In sha Allah I will be getting the rewards for taking care of them.

Gifts

I had specifically told my husband not to buy us lots of things from Pakistan as we don’t need anything and we need to save. However he didn’t listen and got us all lots of clothes. Although it frustrated me so much, I realised that I should be grateful for a husband who was constantly thinking of us while abroad and brought us lots of gifts….so much that he had excess luggage! So rather than get annoyed that he didn’t listen, I should be grateful.

Alhamdulillah

What were you grateful for during the month of October? Do share with me in the comments.